Resiliency
by Kiwicki
Summary: 16 year old Naruto is an orphan and has no recollection of his past before age 11. The thing is, Naruto's okay with it. But when dealing with murders, high school, and one famous Uchiha, it's hard to keep dark memories from resurfacing. AU, SasuNaru.
1. Adoption

Erm... my first time posting a story and writing a kind of story like this. So, yes, it might be horrible, but please don't eat me.

**Warnings: Yaoi! Sasunaru, of course. Unbeta'd. Swearing... later on.**

**Disclaimer: Looks like someone doesn't know how to share! :glares at Masashi Kishimoto:**

* * *

A man covered his head from the showering rain. He ran hurriedly through the street in hopes of getting home faster. Oh, how he wished he'd taken his car to work. It looked all fine and dandy in the morning with the sun shining. Who would've thought the day would end by a thunderstorm? Using his coat as a shelter from the weather, he picked up his pace. He just needed to cut through the park and he was home free. The dim lighting from lamps around the park provided little scenes of the area around them. It was empty at the time, and it seemed to take an eerie effect late at night. The man huffed as he rushed down the dirt road. Fear set in when he looked around the deserted area. He concentrated on the path ahead and saw a figure sitting on a bench, the rain drenching said figure.

_'Now who could that be?'_ the man wondered.

He slowly walked forward, scared that if he made any sudden movements, the figure would run away. The brown haired man realized that the figure was a boy in his mid teens. What was he doing out in the rain? He studied the younger boy. His hair, even when damp and in the darkness of the night, looked amazingly blonde. His head was down in his arms, his back hunched over, and he was curled up in a ball. The brown haired man timidly reached out with one of his arms. When he touched the boy's arm, the boy tensed.

_'His arm is so cold,'_ the man thought. "Hey, what are you doing out here? You're going to get sick."

The boy shifted on the bench and lifted his head to stare at the man. He had the most beautiful blue eyes the man had ever seen. They studied each other for a while, forgetting the rain pouring down on them. Finally, the boy set his head back down into his arms. The man frowned at this.

"Hello?" He waved a hand in front of the other.

No reaction. The man, in his sudden worry over the boy's health, grabbed the other's arm and pulled him along the path. The boy, startled, began to protest wildly.

"Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just taking you back to my house to get you out of the rain. If we both stay out of here an longer, we'll both end up with a cold," the man announced.

The boy seemed to relax at this, but he was still uncomfortable and pouted. They walked in silence through the park until they both got into a nice, warm house. The house was small and lonely, but it had a lively feeling to it. The man hung his drenched coat on a hook and took off his shoes. The boy remained where he stood, observing the house.

"Well? Aren't you going to take off your shoes?" the man asked.

The boy snapped his head toward his host and blushed. He let his head hang as he took off his shoes and placed them beside the door. They walked into the kitchen where the man began preparing some drinks. The boy stood off to the side awkwardly as he watched the other busy himself around the room. After two cups of hot cocoa were made, the man handed one to his guest as he drank out of his.

"Now, you can explain to me why you were out there all by yourself in the rain," he stated.

The boy shifted from foot to foot with the cup in his hands. The man sighed.

"Hello, my name is Umino Iruka," the man stretched out his hand, "now it's your turn."

The boy hesitated before shaking the hand, but didn't give a reply. This was going to be more difficult than the man thought.

_'Maybe conversation isn't the best thing at the moment,'_ Iruka thought.

"Since you're soaking wet from the rain, how about you go take a shower, and I'll go get some dry clothes for you to wear?"

The boy nodded at this and followed Iruka to the bathroom. He was shown where the towels, shampoo, and soap were located as well as his new set of clothes he was supposed to wear afterward. Iruka went back to his kitchen when he was sure the boy could manage on his own. He went to go drink the rest of his cocoa, and watch some news as he waited for the boy.

A couple minutes later, sounds could be heard in the direction of the bathroom. Iruka turned around to see a boy in loose fit clothing much too large for his body. He also noted the crystal blue jewel followed by two silver balls on each side that hung from the boy's neck.

Iruka smiled sheepishly and said, "Sorry that they're kinda big on you, but I only have clothes for me."

The boy smiled back and nodded. Iruka put the volume lower and decided that this was a good time to start. He pointed to a comfortable looking chair beside the sofa he was sitting on. The boy obeyed and sat down.

"Now, let's start talking. Would you like to tell me your name?"

The boy looked lost, and gazed at Iruka confused. He concentrated on the floor before he came to a conclusion.

"... Naruto," he said in a quiet tone.

"Naruto...?" Iruka asked, waiting for the boy to fill in the blank.

The boy, Naruto, shook his head.

_'Did something happen? No one can be stupid enough to forget their own name, can they?'_ Iruka mused. "So, you forgot it?"

The boy shook his head again. "I never knew my surname."

"No one told you?"

Another no answered his question.

"That's weird... Well, how old are you, then? Do you have somewhere to go home to?"

"I'm 16, and, no, I lived at an orphanage."

Iruka's eyes softened at this. He used to work at an orphanage and he knew what kind of pain the children in there went through. Not having parents was a tough thing to handle, especially for kids. They're too young to handle that kind of sadness, that kind of loneliness.

"You lived? As in used to? What happened?" Iruka asked, more confusion seeping into his words.

Naruto's eyes seemed to dim at this, and he let his head hang a little with his bangs covering his eyes. A small frown made its way onto his face. Iruka suddenly realized that Naruto must have had a reason why he was outside in the park. So something occurred back at the orphanage? Iruka understood that, but the real question was what. He decided that going to visit the place would sort things out.

"That's okay if you don't want to tell me. Though, I think we should make a trip to the orphanage in the morning."

Naruto shook his head stubbornly, but Iruka's tone made it final. They were going.

"On another note, is there something you would like to eat?" Iruka asked.

Perking up at the question, Naruto shouted, "Ramen!"

Iruka let out a laugh as Naruto, suddenly full of energy, bounced off the walls, yelling ramen over and over.

* * *

Morning came and the house was bathed in sunlight. Iruka opened his eyes, yawned, and stretched. He got off the couch, and looked at the clock. 9:36 AM. He decided this would be a nice time to wake up the younger boy and take him to the orphanage. Guilt flowed through him as he remembered the sullen face the boy took on when he mentioned the place.

_'I have to, but what if this wasn't the best thing? No, it is for the best, but, then again, the other one could also work out...' _Iruka quietly stood in the middle of the living room, contemplating which side he should take, until a sleepy Naruto shuffled into the room with a hand rubbing the tiredness out of his eye.

"G'morning," Naruto yawned out.

"Good morning, Naruto. Would you like something to eat?" Iruka asked.

Naruto was about to answer, but Iruka cut him off, deciding that it would be best if he chose breakfast. "On second thought, never mind. We'll have some eggs."

"What?! Eggs? But I want ramen!" Naruto protested.

Iruka smiled warmly. They had become quite close in just a short amount of time. It was surprising how Naruto opened up to Iruka, showing his real personality, after he knew he could trust the man. That gave Iruka a nice feeling inside. This boy had made his house feel more happy, more like the house that belonged to a family.

"No, we're having eggs and juice."

"Aw... but Irukaaa!"

A vein popped on Iruka's head and, with a crooked smile, firmly said, "Eggs!"

Naruto quickly closed his mouth. He learned from last night that arguing with Iruka when he had that weird smile on was useless.

After they ate and got dressed, it was off to the orphanage. Naruto had to be stuck with more oversized clothes because his old ones he had come into the house with were still dirty. Iruka quickly noticed that Naruto, apart from his necklace, was wearing a golden bracelet on his wrist.

'_Why didn't I notice that before?'_ Iruka pondered. He let it go and proceeded with driving.

Naruto fidgeted nervously in the car seat beside Iruka. He would pull at a string coming out from the side of his pants, and worry his bottom lip. Iruka spared worried glances toward him as he drove along the road.

When they arrived at the buidling Naruto gave directions to, Iruka parked the car and pulled out the keys. He sat there, staring out the windshield until he took a deep breath and finally started to get out of the car. He noticed that Naruto hadn't moved an inch since the engine turned off. Iruka patted his shoulder lightly, and the blonde jumped.

"Naruto," Iruka whispered, afraid that any louder would startle the boy more, "we're here. Time to get out now."

Naruto, still staring out the windshield, nodded slightly, and went to open the door. Once they were out, Iruka had to push Naruto along to get him inside. It was warm, a relief from the cold weather outside, and it looked exactly like, well, like an orphanage. Sadness made it way into Naruto's features as he took in the familiar surroundings; he didn't bother with hiding it.

Iruka walked up to the counter to see a young woman sitting in a chair with her back to him. Naruto decided to stay by the entrance, unmoving. After a while of waiting, Iruka realized that the woman wasn't going to turn around any time soon. He waited a few more seconds as the sound of typing filled the silent room. Iruka tapped the counter with his hand while cleared his throat. The woman that was typing away on the computer jumped at the new sound. She swiveled around in her chair, and Iruka was met with light brown eyes. She managed an embarrassed smile and stood up.

"I am so very sorry, sir. I didn't notice you there. What can I help you with?"

"Please, it's okay. I'm just here to... return someone."

"Return someone...?" The woman stretched out the question and peered behind Iruka. Her eyes set on a blonde haired boy standing near the entrance. Her eyes widened and her hand came up to cover her mouth. Tears began forming at the corner of her eyes.

Iruka stared at the woman, clearly confused, until she shouted out, "Naruto-kun! Oh my goodness! You're back— you're alive! We were so worried about you! Don't you ever scare us like that again, young man!"

Iruka took a step back, and kept looking back and forth between the hysterical lady and Naruto. Iruka's confused expression settled on Naruto as the young lady kept switching from scolding Naruto to being over the edge with happiness.

Naruto threw on a small grin while he scratched the back of his head.

"Heh, sorry, Rikka-chan."

Naruto's eyes darted toward Iruka for a second before going back on Rikka.

"Honestly, Naruto-kun, you shouldn't give us a scare like that. You know how your condition needs to be monitored every waking moment!"

'_Condition..?'_ Iruka thought.

Naruto sighed. "Yes, yes, I'm sorry, Rikka-chan."

Rikka barged up to Naruto and hit him on the head. "Don't say sorry when you're not even trying to sound like you mean it!"

"Oww! Rikka-chan! You don't have to hit me..." Naruto whined as he rubbed the now sore spot.

"Oh, yes I do! If I don't hit you, nothing I say will get through your thick skull!"

"Hey!"

Iruka continued to watch the scene pass before him. He felt like he was out of the loop; well, he _was_ out of the loop because he didn't understand anything that was going on. What was this about a condition, and why had Naruto run away..?

Rikka, after being done with scolding Naruto, turned towards Iruka and apologized. "I'm sorry if you're confused, sir. It's just, we haven't seen Naruto in ages, and we're all very protective of him."

"We?" Iruka asked.

"Ah, yes! We as in all the staff at this orphanage. That reminds me, I have to tell Nakisame-sama you're back!" She said, turning her gaze toward Naruto before walking across the room toward a door, motioning them to follow.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, why are you so protective of Naruto?" Iruka inquired. Glancing at Naruto and noticing that his expression was blank. He turned his attention to the woman's back as she spoke.

"Um, I think you should ask Naruto-kun if it's okay first. It is, after all, his life."

Iruka looked at Naruto walking beside him. Naruto turned his head and gave a curt nod. The woman, waiting for Naruto's permission, had twisted her head around to see his answer. Smiling, she continued with the explanation while facing the front again.

"It's been about 5 years since that day. The day we found little Naruto-kun here out on the streets, passed out, and on the verge of death. When we brought him in, it looked like he had a concussion, a high fever, and had a lack of food and nutrition since the last few days. We treated him immediately. While we managed to clear his fever and tend to his concussion and food loss, we weren't able to stop him from going into a coma. It seemed his heart was very weak back then.." Her voice only a whisper now. Her pace became slower as the story went on.

"We were afraid that he wasn't ever going to wake up. We wanted him to, though, because even when we didn't know a thing about him, he was still too young to die. He hasn't been able to make his own decisions on life, to choose his own path. It took him a little over a year to recover from that coma, but when he did, we were so happy."

She paused and let a caring smile slip onto her face. Her eyes were filled with warmth upon remembering that day.

* * *

A white door creaked open and a nurse walked in, her heels clacking on the polished tiles. She walked up to the sleeping patient and replaced the empty IV bag with a new one. As she was working, another person stepped inside. The sound of beeping from the heart monitor was the only thing heard in the small room. The nurse finished her job and turned to leave, noticing the man leaning against the wall by the door. She eyed the way he kept wringing his hands as she walked to the door and stepped out.

The man glanced up at the sleeping figure. He timidly walked towards the bed and watched with worried eyes. The boy's chest rose slowly with each breath and his face looked so peaceful. The man smiled. The boy looked so calm. The man wondered what he was dreaming about. Soft, golden locks framed his face. Three lines were evident on each cheek, making him look like he had whiskers. He looked so fragile while on a hospital bed.

The man came here every day, or every chance he got to, since the first time he'd seen him. One of his employees was carrying him in her arms, saying that she found him on the streets passed out.

The boy looked just like his son, except for the whisker marks, of course. His son had the same shade of skin and the same color of hair. It all felt so nostalgic, standing in the hospital room next to a sleeping blonde haired boy.

His son was in a car accident while crossing the street. He was rushed immediately to the hospital. The man visited his son every day because, after his wife died, he was the only thing he had left in his life. Sadly, his son didn't wake up, and one day, his heart just gave out. The hear monitor produced a dull, relentless beep, signaling that the man's son was dead.

With that pain in his heart, he couldn't help himself with dropping by every chance he got to see if this boy would wake up. The year was closing in and with each day, hope was fading.

The man pulled up a chair and sat, staring at the young boy. His eyes flickered to the boy's face as he saw it twitch. Lips turned into a frown and the nose scrunched up as if the boy smelled something awful. A whimper escaped his mouth and the man watched with wide eyes as the boy began to stir.

He stumbled out of his chair and yanked open the door yelling for a doctor or nurse, forgetting about the easily accessible pager in the room beside the bed. He was too excited— the boy was waking up!

A woman with blonde hair in two pigtails rushed in to see the surprising news. She thanked the man that called her, already familiar with him because of his regular visits. She observed the boy as he finally opened his eyes. Bright blue eyes stared into stunned golden ones. The little boy lifted his head and looked around the room, trying to figure out where he was. He sat up and looked at the woman at the side of his bed. He tried to speak, but his throat clogged up. The busty woman quickly handed him a glass of water, and the boy drank it greedily. The doctor sent a nurse to retrieve more after the cup was drained.

"Well, I see you have finally woken up. You're some lucky brat," the blonde doctor noted.

The boy puffed his cheeks out at the name and crossed his arms over his chest. Tsunade chuckled at his behavior. She turned to face the older man in the room.

"Looks like the brat's gonna be okay. Go ahead and call your other friends so they can hear the good news."

"Hey! Stop calling me that," he croaked out.

The man smiled and nodded as he headed out of the room in search for a phone. When he came back, the younger boy had already gotten in a fight with the doctor.

"Why, you little—!" Tsunade yelled as she raised a fist, intent on hitting his little head hard enough to make him lose some brain cells.

"Haha! You old ha—" His was abruptly cut off by a fist hitting him on the head, hard. "Ow.." he whined as he clutched at the new throbbing bump, coughing as he did so.

"Serves you right!" Tsunade told him as she brushed off imaginary dust from her sleeves; a smirk dancing on her lips.

The man cleared his throat and both pairs of eyes landed on him. He walked up to Tsunade and asked, "How is he?"

"It looks like he's intact. It's no short of a miracle that his organs haven't failed up to this point. He's fine for now, I guess, but there is one problem..."

"Hmm?"

Just then, the door burst open and two woman rushed into the room. They gasped as their eyes landed on the patient.

"I can't believe it! He's actually awake! Just like you said," one of them said. The other nodded in agreement. They both rushed over to hug the boy and tell him of what happened during the time they waited for his recovery.

The man and Tsunade both stared at the two girls who took turns glomping, then talking, to the poor blonde boy, their voices filled with happiness.

After calling the other girls over, Tsunade decided to finish what she was saying earlier. "Well, because of his concussion and malnutrition, there is a possibility that he has forgotten everything of his past up to this moment. In other words, he might have long term memory loss, making him forget about his past life.

"Seeing as you found him on the streets, I'm guessing he's had a rough childhood, so it's more of a situation that concerns his mental health. What I'm trying to say is... his memories shouldn't resurface anytime soon, or at all for that matter, unless something from the past triggers those thoughts to come out on their own. And because we don't know what might do that, or when it will happen, you'll have to keep a watchful eye on him at all times. I don't know if his memories will come back in pieces or all at once, but when they do, I don't think he would be able to take it; alone that is. It could very well severely damage his mental stability, so when he does remember, I want someone to be close by, someone he knows and trusts. Please, Nakisame-san, for his sake, take care of him."

Nakisame Fuyu nodded, understanding the woman's concern. The boy was, after all, only a minor.

* * *

Naruto had to stay in the hospital a couple of months until the doctors were sure he was able to function for himself. In those months, he had grown attached to Tsunade, and she had grown fond of him.

"Brat! You awake yet?" Tsunade yelled across the hall while headed for Naruto's room.

A muffled reply reached her ears as she strolled up to the door and pushed it open. A small bundle of blankets was all that greeted her when she walked in.

"What was that?" she asked the bundle on the bed.

A louder, more confident muffle came from the bundle.

"Oi! I can't hear you when you're under there!"

"I _said_," the boy yelled while bursting out from under his blankets, "that I was just about to wake up that nice, slow pace until you shouted my ears off! And cover the windows! They're too bright."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Nice, slow pace?"

Naruto glared. "Yes. Nice, slow pace of waking up, but I guess you'd never know what that feels like because you're like one of those monsters that never sleep."

Tsunade hit him on the head. "I'm not a monster!"

"Maybe you are! Who knows! You have the weird part down, what with your temper and disproportional body!"

"You brat!"

"Whoa, whoa, what's this? I walk in and see Mrs. Crazy chasing Mr. Even Crazier; what's going on?" Nakisame-san asked with a grin.

"Hey!" Naruto and Tsunade yelled in unison.

"Just stating the obvious here. Don't have to get mad," Fuyu laughed out. "So, Naruto, today's the day you get outta here. You excited?"

"Sure am! Who wouldn't be?"

"Well, I thought you'd be a little sad because you're going to be leaving Tsunade here all alone."

"What, that old hag?" Naruto pointed a finger at her. "She can wait a few years, I mean she _is_ already fif— ow!"

"Shut up, you ungrateful brat! You never appreciate what I do for you!" Tsunade scolded.

"Kidding! God! I'll come visit, right, Nakisame-san?" Naruto asked.

"Whenever there's time," he answered with a reassuring smile.

As Naruto checked out of the hospital, Tsunade rushed up to them just as they were about to step out.

"Naruto, here, take this." She reached around her neck and unhooked the necklace she had been wearing. "It's a good luck charm. I want you to have it; might come in handy one day."

Naruto smiled up at her as he took it and hooked it around his neck. "Thanks, baa-chan. Thank you— for everything."

"Sure thing, kiddo. Don't forget to visit, you hear?"

"Yeah, yeah!" he shouted over his shoulder as he walked out of the hospital with Nakisame-san.

* * *

Rikka finished up her story after they stopped in front of a door.

"We welcomed him in like family, and it's been fine ever since," she ended while hugging Naruto.

'_It's looks like Naruto had a nice relationship with the people here... then, why did he run away?_' Iruka thought. It seemed odd that Naruto would just run away because he felt like it, he wasn't that kind of person from what Iruka could gather. So, something must have happened, but what?

Rikka finished her hug with Naruto, after he told her she was breaking his ribs, and knocked on the door lightly.

A middle aged man came to answer the door. He looked from Rikka's face, to Iruka's, and then, finally, to Naruto's. His eyes lit up at what he saw.

"Naruto! Where have you been, son?" he asked with joy while patting Naruto's back.

Naruto didn't look like he wanted to answer. He glanced beside him to Iruka with pleading eyes.

"So, you're the owner, I presume?" Iruka shot in. Naruto gave a thankful smile. Fuyu didn't fail to notice these gestures.

The man cleared his throat and answered, "Ah, yes! I am Nakisame Fuyu, the owner of this orphanage. And you are?" Iruka shook the hand he offered out.

"Umino Iruka, nice to meet you."

"Pleasure's all mine."

"So... is Naruto really your son...?"

Fuyu chuckled. "Oh, no, he's not my actual son. I see him as one of my own, but we're not blood related or anything."

"I see."

"Well, with that all cleared up, let's all go into my office and talk some more over a cup of tea," Fuyu offered.

They shuffled in and sat on the chairs around a wooden table where their tea was placed.

"Well, well, it looks like you've taken a liking to Naruto as well, huh?" Fuyu asked Iruka while turning to face him. Naruto and Rikka were talking on the other side of the room.

"Ah, yes. He's very easy to get along with. Although, he can be a handful..." Iruka answered while taking a sip of his tea, and setting it back down on the table.

Fuyu laughed at the last statement. "He sure is, but it's worth it. He has a special gift of drawing people towards him. He makes everyone smile and feel welcomed. It's nice."

"Sure is."

The both of them looked to the other side of the room where Rikka was showing Naruto a picture on the wall. Iruka smiled fondly at them, and he came to a conclusion.

"Nakisame-san, I would like to adopt Naruto."

* * *

**This is the boring chapter, I know. It'll get better, hopefully. :] And it's short! Urgh!!! :is frustrated: I really want to write long chapters, but I guess the story's not letting me.**

**And beware! My updates are going to be pretty far apart because of my lack of motivation. So sorry.**


	2. A New Life

Hello! Sorry for the long delay. I hope this chapter will make up for it, psh, I doubt it will. I'll try having a set schedule for when I update, but that won't be anytime soon. Haha, and thank you for the wonderful reviews! You all made me happy. :) And sorry if there are any mistakes. :sweatdrop:

**Warning:** Yaoi. Unbeta'd. Swearing. Maybe OOCness? Though, I'm trying not to make them OOC. :(

**Disclaimer:** :handcuffs clinking: Apparently glaring and asking Kishimoto Masashi telepathically for the Naruto characters was against some sort of law out there... :sigh:

* * *

Iruka's stern eyes remained locked onto Fuyu's. He was waiting for any sign of an answer. When all he got was a blank stare, his eyes flickered towards Naruto before coming back to the owner's. A sincere smile graced Fuyu's lips as he stared back at Iruka.

"That's great news," he said, his voice laced with happiness, "Have you told Naruto about this, yet?"

Iruka shook his head. "I decided to keep it a surprise."

"Well, let's tell him now, shall we?" Fuyu motioned for Naruto and Rikka to sit down with them. "Naruto, we have great news."

"What, what is it?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Iruka here has decided to adopt you!"

Naruto's eyes widened. He sat there with huge eyes until he turned towards Iruka and whispered, "Really?"

All Iruka could do was nod, not sure how he should respond to the boy's reaction. The next second he was being hugged by said boy. He was getting suffocated, and he swore he could hear his ribs cracking. Naruto finally let go of Iruka with a wide grin on his face. Iruka smiled back.

"I'm so happy you decided to adopt me!" Naruto shouted. Everyone winced at the loud tone, but still held their smiles.

"Sorry to break up the love fest, but Umino-san and I should be getting to the paperwork. There's a lot, so it'll take a while. Best get started now than later." Fuyu announced. "Rikka, take Naruto around the place, or something."

"Yes, Nakisame-sama," Rikka replied as she dragged Naruto out of the office.

Iruka sat himself in front of a large oak desk while Fuyu gathered the papers. Fuyu sat in a swivel chair in front of the desk, and placed the first papers in front of Iruka.

"Since you're adopting Naruto, you should know a little more about him. What do you know already?"

"He doesn't remember anything before he was eleven... and that's pretty much it."

"So Rikka told you the story, eh?"

"Yes, she did."

"Well, I'll continue it for you. Naruto... there's still many wonders about him. For instance, when we found him, we didn't know his name, and, of course, he didn't know his name either. We only got his first name by the golden bracelet he wears on his right arm. It has his name and birthday embroidered into it. He also has a crystal blue necklace; given by the doctor, Tsunade-san. It's a sign of... good luck, I guess. He cherishes both of these items dearly. I think you already know about how he needs to be constantly watched in case his memories come back, yes?"

Iruka nodded. "But don't you think giving him a little space would be better? I mean, he is a teenager, they need time to themselves once in a while."

"Ah, that's up to you Umino-san. You are, after all, adopting him, so you get to make the decisions of how to take care of him."

"Oh... right."

"Back to what I was saying, you need to visit Tsunade-san each month so she can do her regular check up on Naruto. You can choose to visit more than once a month, just to say hello, or... to help improve her drinking problem."

"Drinking problem?" Iruka asked timidly.

"Oh, don't worry, she's very good at holding her liquor. It's just she has a habit of drinking when she works, and she also gambles a lot. What can I say, she's one of those weird doctors." A pause. "Don't tell her I said that, she'd kill me. For a woman of that age, she has some powerful strength."

"Sure thing..." Iruka replied weakly.

"Anyway, here's the address, and don't worry, she doesn't charge the regular price for each check up. She's always warmhearted when it comes to the little blondie, and she understands the situation, so she usually puts the check up prices to a minimum. Now, let's get started on the actual paperwork."

Fuyu placed different sheets of paper in front of Iruka. He explained about each paper and where to sign.

* * *

"Akina! Akina!! Where are you you good for nothing girl!" Rikka shouted through the halls.

"Good for nothing?! I swear, if that's you Rikka, I'm gonna rip out your lungs with my nails."

"Ha! What nails? You always chew 'em off!"

"Oh, I'll definitely chew _something_ off!" Akina screamed while rounding a corner to come face to face with Rikka.

"Hey, hey, Akina! Look who_ I _found," Rikka sang smugly while pointing behind her at Naruto.

Akina's eyes widened. Naruto sighed and covered his ears for the incoming damage; as well did Rikka. A high pitched scream rang throughout the entire orphanage. Staff members looked up from what they were working on, the younger orphans stopped playing with their toys, strangers walking on the sidewalk next to the building even took the time to glance up.

"Aki–"

Scream.

"Akin–"

Another scream.

"AKINA-CHAN!!" Naruto shouted in between her screaming fits.

A muffled scream.

"Geez, Akina, you're gonna scare everyone! Keep it down," Rikka hissed as she covered Akina's mouth with her hand.

When Rikka was sure that Akina calmed down enough, she removed her hand, but that was a mistake. Ohh, no, Akina wasn't calm just yet, she was far from calm. Another happy scream spilled from her mouth while she ran towards Naruto so she could hug the life out of him. Naruto panicked. Rikka took action.

Rikka tackled her to the ground and put both of Akina's arm around her back with one hand and covered her mouth with the other.

"Calm. Down," Rikka ground out to her. "My God, they should put you on pills, or something."

Rikka looked up from Akina to Naruto. He stood there with a look of relief on his face. He knew something like that was going to happen, but even though he knew everytime they would happen, he still failed at being prepared.

"Naruto-kun, could you please get the duct tape?" Rikka asked sweetly with a sinister smile in place. "Oh, and don't forget the rope. The rope always helps."

Naruto just nodded slowly and went to find the supply closet. When he came back, he found that Rikka was having a hard time keeping the struggling Akina pinned down.

"Oi, Naruto-kun, help me with her, will ya?" Rikka pleaded.

"No! Don't help her Naruto-kun! She's the evil twin!" Akina remarked.

"What are you talking about?! We aren't even related– we don't even look alike!"

"Shut up, evil twin!"

"We _really_ need to get you on some medication. Naruto-kun, hand me the rope."

Naruto stared between them. He hesitated and considered the situation.

"Are you seriously thinking it over?! Come on, we've been over this a million times. You know that helping me is _always_ the better decision," Rikka pointed out.

"Don't go over to the dark side!"

"Naruto-kun, if you don't give me the rope, I _will_ let go of her, and she _will_ hug you, and you _will_ die of suffocation."

Naruto gulped. He didn't want that to happen. So, in the end, he sided with Rikka.

Akina sat, tied to a chair, with duct tape over her mouth. She finally calmed down, and her body was just now feeling all the fatigue her sudden burst of energy brought on. Rikka and Naruto stood in front of the chair, staring Akina down. Well, it was mostly Rikka who was staring her down; Naruto was looking at her because he was being forced to.

"Akina, when I pull off the duct tape, you are going to calmly say hello to Naruto-kun. Understood?" Rikka commanded. Akina nodded, but her eyebrows knit together in protest.

Rikka sighed and tore off the tape from the other woman's mouth.

"Hiya Naruto-kun!" Akina greeted cheerfully. Naruto cringed back at the look in her eyes. He knew she was just waiting to be set free. Just waiting until she could glomp him.

"You are one crazy friend I have, Akina," Rikka stated while closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Well, I have some matters to attend to," she told over her shoulder as she walked towards the door. "Have fun catching up, guys. Oh, and Naruto-kun," Rikka turned around to look straight into Naruto's eyes, "don't untie Akina." She added a chilly glare for emphasis. With that, she disappeared beyond the door.

Naruto stared at the closed door, waiting for Akina to speak first.

"Naruto-kuuun," she crooned.

Naruto slowly turned around, caution in his movements. He faced Akina and saw that a wicked grin began to spread throughout her features. You know, that grin suited for people in white, cushioned rooms that wear straight jackets. That grin was malicious.

_'Why'd Rikka-chan have to leave me in here with Akina-chan when she's in one of her "m__oods"?' _Naruto whined.

"Naruto-kun," Akina repeated in a sugar coated voice, "come here and untie me so I can give you a hug!"

Naruto understood what the underlining tone in her voice meant. He could see the actual sentence beneath her words; the double meaning present in that one statement.

_Come here so I can wring your little neck out for joining the dark side._

* * *

"Well, Umino-san, you're all set. You can grab Naruto and be on your merry way. Take good care of him and don't forget to drop by when you have the time!" Nakisame Fuyu announced while handing Iruka a stack of papers.

"Thank you very much, Nakisame-san. We'll be sure to visit," Iruka replied. Iruka began walking away from the owner's desk until he remembered something important. "Um... do you know where Naruto-kun might be right now?"

Just then, a loud yell could be heard coming from outside the office. Iruka and Fuyu rushed to the door and yanked it open. They both watched as a yelling Naruto came running down the hall past them with an Akina tied to a chair right on his tail. A few moments later, a distressed Rikka appeared and followed the direction they went. Fuyu let out a laugh, and Iruka stood by the door, once again confused.

"Guess we found him," Fuyu said between chuckles, "I think it'd be best to visit Tsunade-san today. Y'know, show her the good news. I'll give her a ring and tell her that you're coming in for a visit."

Iruka nodded and began walking down the hallway to find Naruto. He found them in the room near the entrance. Naruto was crouching behind a couch while Akina stood on the opposite side, shouting at him to be like a man and face her. It was a wonder how she could run that fast while still being tied to a chair. Rikka just stood there with her hands on her hips. Visitors had amused looks plastered on their faces as they watched the scene unfold.

"Naruto!" Iruka boomed over the chaos in the room. Naruto ducked further behind the couch. "It's time to go now. Grab your things and say goodbye to your friends."

"I'm, um, kind of in the middle of something Iruka. Couldn't this wait?"

"Ah, but if we don't leave now, we'll be late getting to Tsunade-san."

"We're visiting the old hag?!"

"Yes, let's go."

"First, get Akina-chan to back down. Then, I'll go."

Rikka rushed over to grab Akina by the arm and force her to sit down on her chair.

"Aww, you guys're no fun," Akina whined.

Naruto released a sigh and got up from his crouching position. He walked over to a bag and lifted it up. "Well, this is my stuff. I've already packed it up."

Iruka smiled. "I'll be in the car, you say goodbye to your friends." With that, he exited through the door.

Naruto slung the strap of the bag over his head to rest on his shoulder. He looked sadly towards Rikka and Akina. Fuyu suddenly turned the corner and walked over to stand by the two women. Silence ensued and the visitors all thought this was a good time to stare at the walls, or stuff their faces in the magazines they were holding.

"I guess I'll... see you guys later," Naruto spoke out.

Rikka teared up and rushed over to give him a hug. Fuyu untied Akina so that she could join in on the hug, too. They all stood there hugging eachother for a minute or two until they broke apart. Akina started crying along side Rikka, while Fuyu held a mournful smile.

"Hey, come on, Naruto's a tough kid. He'll get through all that stuff. We'll see him again soon, won't we?" Fuyu reassured. The girls both nodded and sniffled.

"Thank you everyone. You've been so helpful these past few years. I owe you all my life," Naruto said and, to everyone's surprise, he bowed. That took it over the line. The girls both gushed out tears and ran to hug him again.

Rikka was the first to speak through her sobs. "Y-you better visit, Naruto-k-kun."

"And i-if you get k-killed out there, I'll n-never forgive you!" Akina added. "I-I'll go to your funeral a-and punch you s-so d-damn hard that your s-soul will feel i-it."

Naruto patted their backs soothingly. He tore away from their grasp and gave them all a bright smile. "Don't worry! I'll be fine."

He gave one last grin and waved to the three of them as he walked out of the orphanage. The girls continued to weep as they stared at the closed door.

"He's strong. I'm sure he'll be alright; he always is," Fuyu murmured, more so to himself than the girls beside him.

Naruto slowly walked up to Iruka's car and opened the car door. He got in and sat beside Iruka in the front seat. The bag he carried sat quietly in his lap as he yanked the door closed. Iruka sat in front of the wheel and paused before turning on the engine. They backed out of the parking lot and continued onto the road towards the highway.

There were a lot of questions sprouting in Iruka's mind, but he didn't have the courage to speak them. Naruto looked like he needed some time to himself. He didn't need questions pestering him. The soft hum of the engine tried to fill lack of noise between them, but it was useless. Silence hovered over them and clung to their frames. That is, until someone started the conversation.

"I was there for about five years," Naruto whispered. It was so quiet that Iruka almost didn't hear it. He had to incline his head slightly to listen to Naruto's hushed tone.

Naruto continued, his voice barely audible, "They were the only people I considered close. The only ones that were brave enough to spend time with me. I mean, after my incident, no one wanted to be near me. They feared that I would lose it when my memories came back, and because they never knew when, it was always a 24/7 guard that was put up. No one wanted anything to do with me. They shied away and tried to make as little contact as possible. Rikka-chan, Akina-chan, and Nakisame-san... they were the only ones that ever spoke to me. I couldn't handle it anymore, I thought I was a burden to them... so I left."

Iruka listened intently to Naruto's story. He felt so much sadness for the boy. To have people avoid you, not acknowledge you... that must have been painful.

"I... I don't know how to repay them for all that they've done for me. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be alive right now. I just..." Naruto started crying then, unable to continue.

Iruka placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. He didn't know what to say, so he settled with patting the boy. This time, the engine kept quiet, and the only sound heard was the gentle lull of sobs inside the car.

* * *

Automatic doors slid open as two people made their way toward the front desk. Footsteps echoed off the walls out of contrast to the beeps of machines and chatter of individuals. Nurses and doctors came running in every direction, determined to reach their destination.

Naruto studied the room, noticing all the people that rushed passed him. Iruka walked up to the counter to ask for Tsunade. "Excuse me, but do you know where I could find Tsunade-san?"

A girl with short black hair and matching eyes looked up at Iruka. The pig in her arms let out a delighted snort. She studied him for a moment before turning her attention back to the computer screen she sat in front of. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Well, yes, kind of. She should be aware that we were on our way."

"I'm sorry, sir, but without an appointment, you cannot see Tsunade-sama."

Naruto decided it was time to step in. "Hey, Shizune nee-chan," he called lightly, "tell the hag I'm here. She wouldn't want to miss this kind of appointment."

Shizune looked up and was about to tell the person off until she saw who was talking to her. "Ah, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto grinned at her. "Nice to see you, too."

"How have you been? Wait, never mind, I'll page Tsunade-sama right away!" Shizune started making a phone call as Naruto and Iruka walked back to sit on the chairs in the room. Naruto plopped down on a chair as Iruka took the seat next to him. They remained sitting until a familiar voice made its way to Naruto's ears.

"Damn brat. Waking me up from my nap," she muttered, "Better buy me some sake for this."

Naruto looked up to see Tsunade making her way down the corridor. He grinned at her words. "Hag, we already know you don't need anymore alcohol. You're as tipsy as it is, even without it."

"Oi! You know that I need my sake!" With that she smacked Naruto on the head. She turned to face Iruka and extended a hand. "You must be Iruka, the man crazy enough to adopt this boy." She pointed a finger back at Naruto.

"Hey!"

"You know it's true, brat."

Naruto pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Stupid hag and her fucking obsession with gambling and alcohol," he grumbled.

Iruka let out a nervous laugh, "Yes, that would be me." He shook the hand offered. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. So, what're you gonna do with the brat? Stick him in school?"

"I was thinking about that. It would be best if Naruto-kun got a good education."

"Hmm... if you do plan to stick him in the hell hole known as high school, I just might have the perfect place for him."

"Really, now? What school would you suggest?"

Tsunade snickered and a sinister smile settled on her lips. "Sannin High."

Naruto winced at her maniacal laughter. He knew she was up to something– she was _scheming_. Scheming something that would undoubtedly torture him. He tried to give Iruka warnings behind Tsunade's back, but Iruka never caught on. Naruto flung his arms wildly behind the medical doctor and made X signs with his arms, but they were all in vain.

"Oh? What kind of school is this Sannin High?" Iruka pondered.

"_Great _school. I have a friend that works as the principal. His name's Jiraiya."

Naruto gaped and sat up. "Not the perverted hermit! No! Anything but him! I– you– but– BAH!" Naruto waved his arms in the air before slumping back down onto the seat.

Tsunade grinned wickedly at him. '_Payback's a bitch.'_

'_Perverted hermit...?'_ Iruka wondered. He blinked, bewildered, and then narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Who exactly _is_ this Jiraiya person?"

"Nothing to worry about. He's fine! I'm sure Naruto would just be _dying_ to go to this kind of school. You see, he and Jiraiya are _very_ close. I'm sure I could work it out to where he's transferred in." Tsunade gave an evil smile, but Iruka didn't catch it. He decided to brush off what Naruto said for now.

Iruka, suddenly oblivious to the fake, sugary tone Tsunade was using to trick him, mused over the subject. Iruka guessed that Naruto was just fussing in the corner because he disliked school. "I guess we could go to Sannin High. It sounds nice. Thank you, Tsunade-san."

Tsunade mentally gave herself a point and cackled evilly in her mind.

Naruto let out a groan. '_Shit,' _he inwardly cursed.

"No problem, Iruka. Anything for my dearest, Naruto. I'll begin to do the arrangements now. Follow me into my office."

Iruka nodded and tugged an unwilling blonde along behind him.

Iruka sat down opposite of Tsunade as she called Jiraiya, while Naruto was standing by the door, sulking. Iruka talked on the phone with Jiraiya for some time, making sure that he was as responsible as Tsunade said he was. When Iruka was assured that Jiraiya was fine for the job, Sannin High looked very promising. Though, Iruka didn't realize that Jiraiya hadn't told the whole truth, just the parts that were tolerable and likable about him, but Iruka didn't need to know that. Jiraiya had caught on to Tsunade's plan and played along for the sake of his amusement.

"Alright! You're all set brat!" Tsunde yelled at Naruto. "You begin tomorrow under the name Umino Naruto. Don't be late, you baka!"

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto waved dismissively. "Stupid old hag, stupid pervert," he mumbled under his breath.

Tsunade escorted them out of the Konoha Hospital. She and Shizune both waved goodbye as Iruka and Naruto headed towards their car.

* * *

A man lowered his binoculars from his eyes. He smirked from inside the sleek black car he currently occupied. He found it very amusing that his assigned target would be _him_. It was all too nostalgic. He let a small sound pass his lips that was similar to a chuckle.

Dark eyes narrowed further as he glared at a car leaving the hospital. His partner let out a grunt of impatience as he flipped through the contents of a folder. The man tossed the bundle aside as he let out an irritated sigh. The folder opened up as it landed on the back seat. On the front page was a picture paperclipped onto it. Within the picture sat a young child with unruly blonde hair and impossibly blue eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto, huh?" the partner huffed out.

The dark eyed man smirked again as he fixed his glare onto the entrance of the hospital. _'Found you.'_

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**Whaaa! Finally, we're getting somewhere! Yay! Next chapter will be filled with high school good-ness. :cheer: Thank you for reading. :)**

**The line... button... ruler... thing wasn't working so I had to resort to dashed lines. Hooray for dashed lines!**

**I forgot to add this at the end of Chapter 1, so I'll add it here. Akina, Nakisame-san, and Rikka are my made up OC characters.**


	3. Meetings & Greetings

"Naruto-kun. Wake up. _Now."_

"Mmmrph."

"I'm not kidding, Naruto-kun. If you don't wake up, you're going to be late."

"Good."

"Naruto..."

"Five more minutes!"

A vein popped onto Iruka's head as he watched Naruto begin to drift back to sleep. Honestly, it was his first day, you'd think he'd be more excited? '_Guess not...' _Iruka sighed as he heard soft snoring.

"Naruto-kun, it's already 8:40, you know school starts at 9, don't you? You better hurry if–"

"WHAT?! I HAVE 20 MINUTES?!" Naruto suddenly shouted, fully awake. "Why didn't you tell me sooner Iruka!" Iruka rolled his eyes as Naruto rushed into the bathroom to get ready.

Iruka shuffled back into the kitchen and sipped his tea calmly. Minutes later, Naruto came running down the hall, arm halfway in his jacket, and hair still wet. He stumbled into the kitchen, grabbed a piece of toast, and started towards the front door before he remembered something. He turned around, grabbed his backpack and waved goodbye to Iruka as he shut the door behind him. Iruka smiled into his cup of tea. '_Good luck, Naruto-kun.' _

Naruto ran towards the location of his school, with the directions to it memorized in his head. He was sure he was late, and he'd be killed later for it; courtesy of Iruka. He combed a hand through his hair, trying to make it look at little bit more decent, but it was still wet, so he decided to give up on it. His arm was still halfway in his jacket as he darted across the street, so he jerked it up, fastened it quickly, and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Naruto chewed on his piece of toast and tried to avoid getting run over by millions of cars he seemed to have cut off during his mad jog to school. Some drivers actually _did_ try to run him over.

_'I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!'_ Naruto kept chanting over and over in his head.

Naruto let out a breath when he could see the school just across the street. All he had to do was cross, get through the gates, and slip into his first class, unseen and unnoticed. Totally stealthy, totally inconspicuous. Naruto darted across the street, waving to cars that stopped and honked at him for getting in the way. He let out a nervous laugh, flashed a grin at them, and kept running towards the school gates.

_'Yes, yes, yes! Almost there! Just have to– wait a second...' _Naruto stopped in front of the clear doors of the school entrance._ 'I'm new here, doesn't that mean I don't need to make it on time?! Oh yeah, now I remember, first, I have to visit the old pervert in his office to get my schedule and stuff. Gahhh! What was I doing all this rushing for then?!' _

Naruto grumbled and ruffled his hair in frustration. Water droplets made there way onto the ground. Naruto grimaced, his hair was in between that moment where it's not that wet, but not completely dry either. He hated that feeling. He stood there for another minute, wondering if now would be the best time to find the principal's office. He opened the glass doors in one wide swoop and a gush of air conditioning hit him in the face. It smelled something akin to a dentist's waiting room. That made Naruto shudder. If there were any signs of dentists here, he was booking it. He'd rather die by Iruka than go to a dentist.

Naruto wandered aimlessly around in the halls. The lockers were a pale, blue color and the walls were of a pasty white. Papers littered the empty hallway and some stuck onto lockers with the help of tape. Torn banners hung from the ceiling and were covering the dull walls. Naruto began his trek into the school of doom known as Sannin High. Well, that's what he considered because the principal was the perverted hermit, Jiraiya. No doubt about it; if he was the man in charge, the school just had to be twisted in one way or another.

Before Naruto knew where he was going, he found himself lost. Surrounded by lockers and silence, he panicked. He walked over to a classroom door that was locked with the light turned off. The sign by the door read, 'Room A219'.

_'Room A219?! When did I get in the 200s section?! Isn't that supposed to be upstairs?! When did I climb stairs?!?' _Naruto began searching his brain for some answers. Where was he and why was it so eerily quiet? He started banging his head against some lockers before a small voice got his attention.

"E-excuse me. U-um, you l-look l-lost. D-do you n-need help?" the small voice asked.

Naruto froze. He turned around slowly and was met with a girl that held caring, pale eyes. '_Huh, weird eyes,'_ was the first thing that came to mind. After looking at her for a couple more seconds, with the girl blushing even more under his scrutinizing stare, Naruto finally realized that he must have looked like an idiot right there.

He cleared his throat and raised an arm to scratch the back of his head. "Eheh, yeah, I guess I am."

The girl, if possible, blushed harder.

_'Why is she blushing so much?'_ Naruto wondered.

"W-where a-are you h-headed? I-I can help you f-find it," she volunteered.

Naruto beamed at her. "Hey thanks," he shouted, "I'm headed to the office. Where are you going?"

The blushing girl ducked her head and began to fiddle with her index fingers. "U-um, I'm g-going there, t-too."

"Great! Let's walk together! By the way, my name's Naruto! What's yours?"

"H-H-Hinata."

"Hinata-chan... it has a nice sound to it!"

The blush deepened, covering most of her face. Hinata was a very shy, timid, and fragile girl, Naruto concluded. She was wearing a pale, eskimo jacket and navy blue shorts. She had short, raven hair and her eyes were colorless as well as her skin.

"N-no problem, N-Naruto-kun."

They arrived at the office a few moments later. Their conversation came to an end as they both entered the room. There was a woman sitting behind a desk, typing furiously at her computer. Her desk was cluttered with paper, sticky notes, and other office supplies. Hinata walked up the the woman and shyly handed her a pink slip of paper. The secretary merely glanced at it before jotting down her signature and dismissing the child with a small wave. Hinata took the piece of paper back and started exiting.

"Wait, Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled after her. She turned around, only to be met with a huge bear hug. She blushed and sputtered incoherently. Naruto grinned as he released her. "Thanks again! Hope to see you around, Hinata-chan!" The only thing the poor girl could do was nod meekly as her blushing frame staggered out of the office.

Naruto turned his attention to the secretary. He coughed into his hand to try and get her attention. After a while, Naruto noticed that she hadn't even torn her gaze away from the computer screen once. Either she didn't care, or she was too engrossed in her work to notice him there.

"Hey!" he hollered at her. "Where can I find the perv– I mean Jiraiya... -san." Naruto reluctantly added the suffix at the last moment, just in case the secretary was one of those strict nut jobs. She spared him a glimpse before her eyes attached themselves to the screen again. Her glasses reflected the sun rays shining at her from the window. She pointed to a clipboard with a sign in sheet taped onto it.

_'She's not even going to say anything?!'_ Naruto thought angrily. He growled and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes narrowed as he scowled at her. "What, am I not _worthy_ enough to talk to?!"

The woman sent him a glare, the reflection from her glasses momentarily blinding Naruto.

"Sign in," was her clipped reply.

Naruto snorted. "What if I don't want to?"

The woman shot out a silent warning. "Sign._ In_," she repeated, but with more venom in it than before.

"Hah!" Naruto scoffed. "You can't make me!"

The secretary's eye twitched, but before she could completely lose it and lunge at the boy, a door opened and a man poked his head out of his office.

"Ah, Naruto! How's it going? Come in!"

Naruto smirked inwardly at the woman as he walked passed her into the room the man was motioning to. The woman boiled in her seat, not bothering with typing anymore. She raised a fist as she bit out angrily, "This isn't over!"

The man, Jiraiya, had long, white hair and red tear streaks going down his aged face. The door shut and Jiraiya whistled. "What'd you do, brat? I've never seen her _that_ mad before."

"Oh, nothing," Naruto answered innocently. Jiraiya rolled his eyes.

Naruto studied the spacious room. It had a desk at the back, a bookshelf, two chairs, a lamp, plants... hell, it had _everything_ an office could ever want. For the first time, Naruto noticed that there was another person, other than him and Jiraiya, in the office. The man had gray hair that stuck up in a way that defied gravity, but he couldn't have been older than 35. His face was buried in an all too familiar orange book, but Naruto caught sight of a mask that covered nearly half of his face. On top of that, he wore a blindfold slanted, so that it would only cover one eye. (1)

_'Blindfold?! What kind of man is he?!' _Naruto questioned in his mind.

The man peered up at Naruto from his book and his one visible eye crinkled into an upwards 'u', giving off the hint that he was smiling. "Hello there, I'm Hatake Kakashi, but you can call me Kakashi."

Naruto stared blankly at him. Before he realized what he was saying, the first thing that flew out of his mouth was, "How can you talk so clearly with that mask over your mouth?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Oh, there are many things I could do with a mask on that you could never have imagined." Naruto looked confused, while Jiraiya looked amused. "Say, Jiraiya, who's the cute little blonde?"

Naruto blushed, embarrassed, and Jiraiya held back a laugh. "He's Umino Naruto."

"Ahh," Kakashi replied before sticking his nose back into his precious book.

"So, brat. Here's your schedule." Jiraiya shoved a piece of paper into Naruto's hands. "And look, you have first period with Kakashi." The said man smiled again with his 'u' shaped eye.

"Eh... okay," Naruto said nervously. "Thanks, Ero-sennin."

"I told you never to call me that again!"

"Pshh, as if I'd listen to you," Naruto countered while sticking out his tongue childishly.

Kakashi watched as the two of them bickered, a glint of mirth in his eye.

"And you!" Naruto pointed at Kakashi in the middle of his fight with Jiraiya. "I bet you're a pervert, too! You're reading that stupid orange book he wrote!"

"Why yes, I am one. Nice of you to notice, Naruto."

Naruto was taken aback. "Y-y-you say that line you're proud to be one!" he stuttered.

"That's because I am," Kakashi stated bluntly.

"You're _exactly_ like the perverted hermit, dammit! Not another one! Please, no!" Naruto prayed.

Jiraiya and Kakashi shared a look. They both broke out in wide grins, a plan forming in their minds.

"Hey, Naruto, why don't we head to class now?" Kakashi offered.

"Yeah, yeah! And you can tell him _all_ about the contents of that book you've been reading on your way there!" Jiraiya put in.

"Noooo!!" Naruto screamed while covering his ears.

The two men laughed evily as Jiraiya ushered them out of his office. "Come on, I'm sure you don't know the way, so stick with Kakashi and he'll escort you there. I promise you, the trip won't be boring!"

The secretary jolted up from her position as she heard the loud commotion when it burst across the room. She could barely recognize the yellow and gray blurs that sped towards the exit. The door to the office slammed shut as she faintly heard the repetitive shouts of 'Evil perverts' and 'I don't wanna hear it'.

"Hey, did ya hear? We're getting a new student in our class today," a boy with messy brown hair and a red upside down triangle tattoo on each cheek announced. He sat up in his chair and turned around. "What d'you think of it, Uchiha?" He directed his eyes toward a boy with pale skin, dark hair that had a light tint of blue, and coal eyes.

"Hn."

"How about you Shikamaru?" the boy asked while poking the person he addressed in the ribs. Shikamaru had brown hair tied up into a spiky ponytail, and was currently slumped over his desk with his head on the table, sleeping.

He was awoken by a sharp pain on his right side. Mumbling, he let out a groggy, "Troublesome," and went back to snoozing.

The boy with sloppy brown hair grinned, showing off his canines that were very similar to a dog's.

"I bet he's an idiot like you, Kiba," a boy with long, dark hair and deathly pale eyes remarked beside the sleeping boy.

The brown haired boy known as Kiba growled at him. "Shut it, Hyuuga. At least I'm not an ass like you."

The classmate brushed off the insult as he continued staring outside the window.

"Sasuke-kuuun!" a shrill voice cooed. Everyone in the group mentally groaned. A girl with bright, pink hair cut short latched onto the arm of Uchiha Sasuke. He was glaring at his desk, sending daggers, until the girl pulled on his arm and made him stumble a little in his seat.

Kiba leaned in close to Sasuke as he whispered loud enough so only Sasuke could hear. "Hey, Sasuke, we're gonna leave you and your..." Kiba paused. "_girlfriend_ to yourselves." Sasuke shot a death glare at Kiba while he laughed and pulled the rest of the group away from the couple.

"Sakura, let go," the Uchiha stated coldly.

"But Sasuke-kun!" she pouted and batted her eyelashes in a way she thought was alluring. Sasuke ground his teeth.

"Sasuke-kun!" another shriek rang out in the classroom before a girl with light blonde hair tied into a high ponytail latched onto Sasuke's other arm.

Sasuke mentally cursed. _'Great. This is fucking fantastic. First Leech #1 comes, and now Leech #2. Damn girls...' _He glared at both squealing girls with disinterest. They never got the message that he thought they were annoying and a nuisance through their heads. Seeing the two girls latching onto Sasuke, other girls got confident and started scooting their desks closer. They all stared at Sasuke with hunger in their eyes. Apparently, girls were born with predatory instinct.

_'This is so annoying... damn clingy girls,'_ the Uchiha thought angrily. His face remained impassive until a frown made its way onto his features. The girls around him swooned at the sight. Kiba looked up from arguing with Neji to see how Sasuke was doing. He snickered and said out loud to the boys around him, "Wow, girls swooning from a frown. That's got to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen." Neji smirked and Shikamaru yawned.

"Let go. Both of you," Sasuke spat out at the two ladies, or 'leeches' as he called them. Both girls frowned.

"Ino you pig! You made Sasuke-kun angry!" Leech #1 screeched, her pink hair swaying slightly as she moved to stare at the other girl.

"I bet you're the one who made him mad, forehead!" Leech #2 screamed back while raising a fist.

Both girls began fighting and, in the process, let go of the person they were arguing over. Sasuke scowled. This happened practically every morning. Why wouldn't the cycle ever stop for once? Sasuke tuned out the girls' insistent babble as he stared apathetically at the front of the room. '_I'm going to fucking kill Kiba. Just you wait, Inuzuka, just you wait.'_

Ino and Sakura seemed to have made an interesting fight because there was now a circle around them. Most of the people there were picking sides and rooting for the other's downfall. Sasuke's eye twitched because it just so happened that the fight was located near him, which evidently meant that people were now huddling closer into his personal space, trying to get a better view.

Sasuke thought about getting up and finding a new place to sit, but he would rather chew off his own arm than let inferior people win. By moving, he would be giving these people victory that they had accomplished in making him switch seats. This all looked silly because who would be thinking that when there was a fight going on? Apparently, no one at the moment, but Sasuke didn't know that. He crossed him arms over his chest and laid back in his chair. Screw moving, pride always wins.

A select few chose to remain in there seat, and among those few were Kiba, Shikamaru, and Neji. Kiba tried to hide his laughter, but everyone by him knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer. Kiba could just imagine the look on Sasuke's face right now. Oh, how he wished he'd have brought a camera. The Uchiha lumped together in that huge group of people, getting shoved and squeezed in between others; what wonders that will do to deepen his scowl. Seeing his face would make Kiba's day, but it would mean going into the crowd, and that was just suicide.

Mostly everyone was getting rowdy and it was surprising that a teacher hadn't walked in to calm them down yet. After the fight was over, resulting in two battered and torn leeches, everyone turned back to their seats. The talking began moments later. The class was back to its normal routine: waiting for their lazy teacher to arrive.

Kiba decided that now would be a good time to go back to the angry raven. Kiba found out that it was always fun to piss him off. Deciding to leave Shikamaru because he was out cold, Kiba and Neji strolled back over to their original desks. Kiba hid a grin as he looked at Sasuke, and Neji smirked. Sasuke looked up from glaring holes into his desk, only to direct his icy stare at his two _supposedly_ friends.

"Aww, come on, princess. It couldn't have been _that_ hard to deal with people being around you," Kiba said playfully. Sasuke's glower darkened at the nickname. Kiba seemed unfazed.

"Yeah, Uchiha, don't get mad at us. We just thought you'd like the attention," Neji added in with a sly smile.

"Don't give me that bullshit," Sasuke snapped, "You know very well that I hate dealing with it. Inuzuka, remind me later to kill you in your sleep."

"Why would I do that?! I'm not stupid!" Kiba barked back.

Sasuke gave him a look.

"... Shut up!" Muttering to himself, Kiba went to wake up Shikamaru. After much effort, Kiba finally dragged Shikamaru to his own seat, and plopped down in his. Shikamaru settled for staring outside the window at the floating clouds.

The talking dimmed down to soft murmurs as more people got more impatient with their late teacher. To everyone's surprise, loud yells could be made out coming from the other side of the door. Heads snapped toward the entrance as the shouts got louder. Stomps could be heard drawing near as the children listened attentively. A blonde haired boy burst through the door with his hands covering his ears. He was dressed in a black jacket with an orange shirt and blue jeans. His tennis shoes patted across the room as he ran to a corner.

The boy covering his ears was shouting, "I don't wanna hear it, I don't wanna hear it, I don't wanna hear it! Shutupshutupshutup!"

A chuckling silver haired teacher walked in through the door while holding up an orange book. "But it's getting to the good part! You'll miss it!"

The class eyed the screaming boy at the front of the room warily with confusion and shock written on their faces. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. _'Who's the loud idiot?'_

Kakashi smiled at the blonde and strolled towards his desk casually. The boy was in the corner banging his head against the wall until Kakashi cleared his throat. Finally noticing the silence in the room, the boy turned around. The class was met with stunning blue orbs on a smooth, tan face adorned with three whisker like lines on each cheek.

Naruto looked around nervously at all the pairs of eyes on him. He raised a hand to scratch the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Heh... hi."

Whispers broke out as students took in the strange boy. Kakashi raised a hand up in a hushing gesture, the room quieted immediately.

"Everyone, this is Umino Naruto, your new classmate," he stated.

Talking erupted throughout the small room once again. Naruto peered behind him to his new teacher. Kakashi gave an encouraging grin and waved his hand in a shooing motion. Naruto turned around, drew in a deep breath, and flashed them all a bright grin. Shifting nervously under some of their stares, he quickly scuffled towards an empty desk.

Sakura was currently sitting in her desk, which was conveniently next to Ino's. They were engaged in a conversation pertaining the new student. Sakura tuned out the words spewing out of Ino's mouth because she was trying to figure out something in her mind.

'_Naruto... where have I heard that name before?'_ she mused.

Neji stared, Kiba stared, Sasuke glared, Shikamaru could care less. Neji looked amused while Kiba started laughing. Sasuke grunted and folded his arms across his chest again, and Shikamaru went back to looking at his precious clouds. Neji decided to stare out the window, too.

Naruto found a nice enough seat in the back. Slouching down into it, he let his backpack slide to the floor.

Staring at the blonde boy, Sakura racked her brain for some answers. Then, it clicked.

"Ehhh?! Naruto!" she shouted from across the room while standing up and pointing a finger at him.

Naruto's head shifted towards the sound of his name being called out, and he locked eyes with Sakura. His face brightened at the sight of her.

"Sakura-chan!" he replied while waving.

Ino gawked. "Sakura, you know that guy?"

Sakura nodded and waved back at Naruto. "Err, I used to see him all the time at Konoha Hospital after he woke up from his coma. I told you about how my mom was friends with a doctor there, right? Well, I used to always visit her when I was little, and that's how I met Naruto. I stopped going as I got older, and he got discharged, so I never saw him again."

Naruto hurried over to Sakura to greet her. "Hey, Sakura-chan! It's been so long, how's it going?"

Sakura smiled, her emerald eyes softening. "Yeah, nearly, like, what, five years? I'm doing great! How about you? How'd you get here?"

"Ugh, long story."

"What, giving Tsunade-san more troubles?"

"More like she's giving _me_ troubles."

Ino looked between the both as they caught up. She was surprised to know that Sakura knew the new kid. She'd leave her best friend alone so that they can have a nice, private conversation. She decided to go ogle Sasuke some more before Kakashi started the class.

Ebony eyes scanned the room and locked onto a mop of blonde hair. It looked like the boy was talking with Sakura. His eyes narrowed. '_How does Sakura know him?' _Sasuke snorted. Like hell he cared. The blonde boy seemed to be covered with stupidity. From the smile on his face down to the soles of his worn out tennis shoes.

Kiba was sitting in his seat backwards so that he was facing Sasuke. He nudged him in the arm.. "What d'ya think of the new guy?"

"Che, looks like an idiot to me."

"Hmm, well, he's done talking with Sakura. I'll invite him over."

"Hn."

Kiba grinned and waved over at Naruto. "Yo, Naruto! Over here!"

Naruto turned around to see Kiba calling him over. Curiously, he approached the pair. Kiba's grin was still in place as he watched him come closer.

"What?" Naruto asked rudely.

"Whoa, man. Put the attitude away. Just wanted to say hi." Kiba stretched out a hand.

Naruto eyed it suspiciously before shaking it.

"So, me and pretty boy over here wanted to welcome you. I'm Kiba."

"Naruto."

"Nice to meet ya, blondie."

Naruto frowned at the name. "Yeah... same." He looked over at Sasuke, waiting for the boy to speak.

"Don't worry 'bout trying to get him to say stuff. His name's Sasuke; rarely says anything. He's just a self-centered, cold, p– " Kiba was abruptly stopped by a kick in the shin.

Naruto noticed Kiba's sudden stop and the kick that caused it. He knit his eyebrows together and stared at the both of them. "Looks like a bastard to me."

Sasuke's head snapped towards the blonde boy. He shot him a glare. Kiba howled with laughter. Patting Naruto's back he shouted, "Man, that's rich! I like you already, blondie!" Naruto made a wide grin.

Kakashi finally decided it was time to start class. He gained everyone's attention and silently told them to get in their own chairs. Naruto returned to his desk after waving goodbye to Kiba.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Kakashi didn't look up from his book as his students filed out. Naruto picked up his schedule and checked to see what his next class was as he walked down the hall.

Kiba and Sasuke started going the same direction after saying goodbye to Neji and Shikamaru. Kiba noticed Naruto ahead of them and yelled out, "Blondie!"

Naruto turned around at the familiar nickname and was met with Kiba and Sasuke. He smiled and slowed his pace so they could catch up. "Hey, Kiba. What's up?"

"Going to History. Ugh. What class do you have next?"

Naruto glanced at his schedule again before answering, "Gym."

"Ah, that's the same as Sasuke! Well, I have to go, but you can walk there with Sasuke. See ya!"

Naruto waved and continued passing the halls along side Sasuke. Girls in the halls swooned at the sight of the Uchiha. Noticing this, Sasuke's frown only grew more. Naruto's eyes flickered to Sasuke's face.

'_There's that frown again... Why does he always have that cold stare? What, does he sleep in the freezer?'_ Naruto thought.

Sasuke caught Naruto staring and turned his head so he could glare at him as if asking 'Why are you fucking staring at me?'

Naruto was taken aback for a second before his anger sparked. "What's your problem?"

"Apparently you, dobe."

Naruto boiled at the name. "Dobe?! I'm not a dobe!"

Sasuke smirked. "Oh really? Well, I just thought you were one because you kept getting every question wrong in class."

"Shut up, teme! At least I have a personality!"

The two boys made eye contact, the tension around them unbearable. With another fierce glare, both boys turned away with a 'Hmph' and sauntered towards the gym in silence.

Sasuke started walking a little faster to get ahead of Naruto, determined to get to the gym without having to interact with the dobe any longer. Naruto realized this and picked up his pace, too. It soon became a battle of who would reach it first.

_'I'm not going to lose to this prick,'_ Naruto mentally stated.

'_Tch. I'll make it to the gym before that usuratonkachi,'_ Sasuke scoffed in his mind.

Both confident, they kept picking up their speed. Sasuke started walking faster, Naruto did too. Naruto started fast walking, Sasuke did the same. Soon, they both broke out in a mad dash towards the gym. They turned a sharp corner and continued their race. People were careful not to get in their way; they knew they'd only get trampled. With their destination nearing, both boys kicked it up a notch. (2)

Naruto and Sasuke burst through the doors, panting and gasping for air. Naruto clutched his shirt as a way to try and calm down his heart. Sasuke was slumped against the wall breathing heavily. Both boys looked up to glare at eachother.

"I won, teme," Naruto announced through his large intakes of much needed oxygen.

"You dobe, I clearly won," Sasuke choked out.

Cerulean eyes bore into ebony; ebony bore into cerulean. Sasuke and Naruto sat on the floor of the gym, catching their breath. Neither would back down from the heated battle. That is, until a loud shout made them both jump.

"MY YOUTHFUL STUDENTS! I AM JOYOUS TO SEE THAT YOU WERE SO EAGER TO COME HERE! LET US BASK IN THE MOMENT OF YOUR SPRING TIME YOUTH AND BEAUTY!" a boisterous man clad in green _everything_ boomed at the two Juniors.

Sasuke inwardly groaned. _'Shit, I forgot Gai was teaching this class.'_

Naruto took in the man that was standing in front of him. He was wearing a green jumpsuit that hugged his skin closer than Naruto would have liked. He had a bowl cut with jet black hair and the biggest eyebrows you would ever see on a man. Everytime the man smiled, his teeth would produce a bright, blinding flash. Naruto had unfortunately looked straight at the shine and soon saw colored spots clouding his vision.

It seemed like Mr. Green wasn't going to be done talking for a while. Naruto started getting up from his position and looked beside him. Nothing was there. That meant Sasuke had already left. He _left_.

'_S__on of a...' _Naruto clenched his hands into fists._ ''That _bastard_! He left me with this weirdo!'_ Naruto was seething with anger, but Mr. Green didn't look like he noticed, or cared. Words kept flying out from his mouth, all of them full of youth or love. Naruto sighed. He didn't want to be rude, but this one sided conversation had to stop.

"Sorry, but I need to get ready for class. So if you'll just–" Naruto was cut off by the man laughing.

"YOU HAVE SUCH A YOUTHFUL AND ENERGETIC SPIRIT! ALREADY WANTING TO START GYM! WELL, I, MAITO GAI, AM HERE TO ASSIST YOU!"

"No, no, I don't need any help–"

"COME, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT! LET US GO INTO THE LOCKER ROOM WHERE I WILL START CLASS!"

"Err... Hey, stop pushing! I don't need help walking, I can do it by myself!"

"NONSENSE! EVERYONE NEEDS HELP WITH SOMETHING! DON'T BE ASHAMED!"

"What?! I said I _don't_ need–"

"NO NEED FOR THANK YOUS, MY DEAR STUDENT! IT'S ALL PART OF MY JOB!"

Naruto sighed in defeat as he allowed Gai to push him across the gym, towards the boy's locker room.

Naruto placed himself in the back of the group of boys gathered inside. He looked around and saw many faces from his first class. His eyes locked onto Sasuke's, which were already staring at him in a smug fashion. Naruto glared. Sasuke's smirk widened.

"YOSH! OKAY, I AM MAITO GAI, YOUR INSTRUCTOR FOR THIS WONDERFUL CLASS! TODAY WE WILL START OUT WITH RUNNING LAPS! TOMORROW, DON'T FORGET TO BRING GYM CLOTHES, AND YOU WILL BE ASSIGNED A LOCKER! NOW, IT IS TIME FOR ROLL CALL!" Gai shouted at the group of high school kids.

As the list went down, Naruto was only half paying attention. He was still fuming over the predicament involving Sasuke. When it changed to the 'U' section, Naruto's ears perked up.

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Hn."

A jolt rushed through Naruto's mind. He blinked. '_What the hell was that?' _he wondered. A sharp pain made itself known on the side of Naruto's head. Naruto raised a hand to rub his temple to try and soothe it. He vaguely heard his name being called out and he answered with a weak, "Here."

With that, the attendance was finished and Gai was trying to encourage his students to run outside to get an early start on their laps. Everyone stepped out of the room, except for Naruto, who was still trying to figure out why his head hurt. Soon, it turned into a dull ache, and Naruto pushed the questions he was thinking to the side. _'I'll worry about that later. First, I need to catch up with the rest of the class.'_

(1): It's pretty much the mask he always wears in the Naruto series. Ehhh... I didn't want to do the usual 'scarf' and/or 'eye patch'. They all looked so over used... and weird, so I did mask (Over used? Yes, but the hell with it, I wanted a freakin' mask.) and blindfold. Sorry, I know it's a weird ass combo, but blindfold was the only thing I could think of at the moment! And scarf + eye patch just wasn't working out for me. I think they're even _weirder_. Come on, I don't want Kakashi to be a pirate, geez! :sob:

(2): That reminded me of Emeril Lagase from Emeril Live! Bam! :D

I've noticed that in some sentences... the words rhyme! Wtf?!?

When I was browsing through stories by using the search option on the website, I realized that my title is so unoriginal. Yeah, haha. I practically saw, like, what, 10 other stories called 'Memories' out there? I'm sitting here thinking 'Holy crap! Maybe I should change my title...' but I have no clue what to put it as. Honestly, I made up 'Memories' on the spot while I was posting the first chapter. I really hadn't thought about the title, so I put down the first thing that came to mind. Ahh, bad me. Anyone have any suggestions, or should I just leave it the way it is? And I'd love to hear from you about what you think of the chapter/story so far. Thanks!


	4. Guys' Night Out

Finally got this out! I changed the summary! Whee! I didn't think it explained the whole story, and blah, blah, blah. Soo, there you go. New summary. I haven't updated in a while, and I'm so very sorry. I have a feeling that I'm going to be saying that word a lot throughout this story... Anyway, it's because I never get around to actually writing this stuff down. I mean, I have it all in my head, just need to freakin' type it. Well, I did warn you about long updates at the end of Chapter 1. But don't worry! I'll try to type up a lot more during Spring Break.

**Warnings:** Y'know... the usual... Yaoi. Swearing. Unbeta'd. Maybe OOC? + Long updates!

**Disclaimer:** :sitting in a jail cell: I just realized; I never got my day in court! Urgh! Darn you, Kishimoto Masashi! I'll get the Naruto characters someday! I just need to get out of jail first... :forms a plan:

* * *

The track was like any ordinary track; oval shaped and a football field in the middle. Nothing special, but to Naruto, it was a tool of torture. Sure, it _looked_ nice, but when you have Gai as a teacher, you begin to think differently.

"Let's go youthful students! Only three more laps!" Gai cried from the sidelines.

The boys jogging on the track mentally let out an irritated grumble. They were too tired to conjure up one while running.

'_At least he stopped shouting so loud...'_ Naruto reasoned. He was lagging behind as his lungs screamed for air and his muscles begged for rest. Naruto stopped abrubtly, catching his breath. He bent over and put his hands on his knees as other students passed him. His panting died down and he glanced at the ground.

_'Hmm... what's that shiny thing?'_ Naruto wondered as he bent lower to examine it. Suddenly, a strong pat on the back caused him to lose his balance. He fell on his face with a soft thud. Naruto pushed himself back up onto his forearms and shook his head to get rid of any dirt in his hair. Sitting up and rubbing his sore face, he saw a flash of green before him.

_'Dammit, not another one!'_ Naruto complained inside his head.

The boy that stopped in front of him was clearly the one that pat him on the back. He was like a mini replica of Gai. Same bushy eyebrows, green jumpsuit, and same blinding teeth. His round eyes held a fiery intent as he shouted, "Hello, my wonderful classmate! You were so full of springtime youth, so I congratulated you with a pat on the back! May I ask for your name? I haven't seen your passion and enthusiasm here before."

_'Oh, God, he even talks like him.' _Naruto let out a sigh. "I'm Naruto, and I'm new. Thanks, I guess..." _'If you think sucking in air like a vacuum and looking like total shit is being full of 'springtime youth'.' _Naruto added mentally.

"No problem! It is my duty as Rock Lee to help my fellow peers! Now, let's go and finish our laps!" Lee gave him a thumbs up.

"Er... that's alright, Lee. I'll just sit here." Naruto replied.

"Naruto-kun! You need to use that youthful energy inside of you! Here, I'll help!"

"Wahh?! Hey– wait! What's with people and helping me?! I have legs, you know!"

Lee grabbed Naruto's wrist and was bursting into a sprint. Naruto, not ready for the sudden change in speed, tripped over his own feet. Lee was practically dragging his across the track, now.

"Ow! Hey– ow– let go! Lee! Too fast, too fast!" Naruto yelled.

Lee ignored Naruto as he caught up to the rest of the class. Everyone stared at the two as they passed them in a matter of seconds. Naruto feet were being pulled against the dirt path and were leaving a trail of dust behind him.

"Tch, dobe," Sasuke said under his breath.

Naruto, tired of being lugged around, tried to pick his feet up and jog along side Lee. Lee noticed this and beamed. His teeth sparkled right into Naruto's eyes.

"Gah! I'm blind!" Naruto wailed covering his eyes with his free hand.

"Yosh! Your youthful spirit is inspiring! Let's pick up our speed and finish these laps in record time, Naruto-kun!"

"But I don't want to–!" Naruto whined as Lee ran faster. Naruto could barely keep up, and he couldn't slow down for fear of being dragged again. Naruto tried tugging free of the death grip Lee had on his wrist, but to no avail.

Naruto and Lee finished their laps in record time, indeed. This left a gasping, and nearly dead, Naruto and a triumphant Lee.

"GOOD WORK, LEE, NARUTO!" Gai bellowed.

"THANK YOU, GAI-SENSEI!" Lee saluted.

They both made a thumbs up, teeth flashing, while Naruto remained collapsed on the grass.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!!"

"Gai-sensei!!!"

As they hugged, Naruto was too tired to make note of the crashing waves and sunset in the background that appeared out of nowhere.

A couple of minutes later, the rest of the class finished, and it was time to hit the showers.

Everyone walked with a slow pace back to the locker room, still trying to regain their energy from the long run. Naruto, however, had already bounced back, so he had time to have other things on his mind than needing air.

_'I wonder what that pain in my head was from...'_ he mused. _'Now, what was I thinking about before it happened?'_

Naruto backtracked, trying to remember what his thoughts were and what he had been doing around at the time.

_'Let's see... Gai-sensei was pushing me into the locker room... Sasuke was being a bastard... I was planning revenge... um...'_ Naruto spaced out while still trying to remember, but was smacked out of them from a loud shout on his right.

"Naruto! Lee told me you are the new student of my youthful class! Since you don't have anything to take a shower with, I will gladly lend you–"

"Ah, Gai-sensei, I don't think that's necessary. I'll be fine with not taking a shower," Naruto cut in.

"But you must take a shower, Naruto! It relaxes the spirit and refreshes your springtime youth!"

Gai kept on lecturing him about how cleanliness was an important part of class, but Naruto spaced out again. He could only catch snippets of the lecture, so it all sounded something like, "Blah blah blah blah blah YOUTH blah blah blah blah PASSION blah blah YOUTH."

Not wanting to deal with this, Naruto caved in. "Alright, alright! I'll take a shower, but I _don't_ need to borrow things."

"Yosh! Okay, Naruto! I shall have someone lend you a towel!"

"What did I ju–"

"Sasuke!" Gai directed his voice towards the stoic raven. Being the first to have already finished his shower, he was just now walking out in new, clean clothes. "Lend Naruto your things, for he needs them to take a shower!"

Naruto's anger boiled behind Gai. "What?! Why do I need to borrow from that teme?!"

Annoyance flickered through Sasuke's eyes at first, but then, a sadistic smirk crossed his face as Naruto kept rambling on about how he didn't need to borrow things.

_'Well, it _is_ fun to mess with the dobe...' _Sasuke's eye twitched at the thought of Naruto touching his belongings, but it was just something about teasing the blonde that created a spark inside the Uchiha. "Fine."

Naruto stopped midstream and turned his head to face Sasuke. He glared. Sasuke's smirk grew.

"Excellent! Now, go, Naruto!" Gai yelled while turning around and walking towards his office.

"B-but... but..." Naruto protested, but sighed in defeat. Grumbling, he walked slowly over to Sasuke.

"Teme, where's your stuff?" Naruto hissed, eyeing Sasuke's empty hands.

"In my locker," Sasuke replied easily.

Naruto grit his teeth. "And where is _that_?"

"In the back, dobe."

"_Where_ in the back?"

"Figure it out–"

"TEME! JUST GIMME YOUR FUCKING STUFF!"

Sasuke chuckled inside his mind at Naruto's behavior, his smirk never once faltering. "They're still in the first shower stall, and don't break anything."

"You said they were in your locker!" Naruto accused while pointing a finger at him. Then, he snorted and said, "And I'm not going to break a plastic shampoo bottle. I'm not _that _stupid, teme."

"Who knows."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted back at the boy, but swallowed any other words he was going to say when Sasuke started leaning in closer.

Naruto stiffened when he felt Sasuke's lips ghosting over his ear, his breath tickling the sensitive skin as he whispered, "Have fun, usuratonkachi."

Sasuke strolled passed Naruto, leaving him with his mouth open and a blush adorning his cheeks.

"T-teme! Y-you jerk! What did you mean by that last statement?!" Naruto screeched after Sasuke when he recovered from his shock, but the raven had already stepped out of the locker room.

Sasuke casually sauntered further away from the locker room door. _'Hn, idiot.'_

"Stupid, teme. Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Naruto muttered with each stomp, making his way towards the first stall. "I should break the shampoo bottle– just to spite him. In fact..."

The sounds of everyone else taking their showers filled the room. Naruto stopped at what he assumed was the first stall and pushed the curtain out of the way to reveal a small shower. He stepped inside and snatched the shampoo bottle.

_'Dammit, it's plastic... Ah, oh well. I can do more stuff to this little guy than breaking it anyway.' _Naruto snickered to himself as he thought up plans that involved a certain plastic shampoo bottle.

* * *

Naruto peered around the corner of a hallway. It was empty except for some loose papers on the floor. Naruto sighed, he was late for lunch. His shower had taken longer than he'd thought. He slowly treaded towards the cafeteria building. It was already packed with students when he entered.

Naruto stepped off to the side to watch as people ate and mingled with one another. He stared at the food that was on each plate. Suddenly, he didn't feel like eating anymore.

_'Don't they have any normal food here? I want ramen...'_

Naruto scanned the tables again, looking for someone he knew. He spotted Kiba waving over at him. Smiling, he went towards that direction. When Naruto arrived, he noticed that it was all the way in the back of the cafeteria, by a dark corner.

"Yo, blondie!" Kiba greeted.

"Hey, Kiba," Naruto replied while taking a seat next to him. He took notice of the people sitting around him. It was a long, rectangular table split into four sections. The two sections on the left, where Naruto was sitting at, had a boy munching on chips, another boy sleeping, Hinata, a guy with pale eyes, a girl with hair tied up in buns, Lee, Kiba, Sasuke, and someone wearing sunglasses.

"So, we're planning to go eat out tonight. Wanna join?" Kiba asked Naruto, giving him a grin.

Naruto stopped observing everyone and turned back to look at Kiba. "We? Who's we?"

"Me, Shikamaru, Neji, and Sasuke."

"Oh, uh..."

"C'mon! It'll be fun, and I promise Sasuke and Neji over there won't be that much of an ass!" Kiba pointed to Sasuke and the boy with pale eyes.

They both shot Kiba looks, but he didn't notice.

"Er... sure, okay," Naruto answered.

"Woo!" Kiba cheered while pumping a fist in the air. "Meet us after school at the back."

"The back? Why not go out to the front?"

"You'll see."

Naruto, still confused, nodded anyway. After listening to Kiba ramble on about homework, Naruto put his head on the table. He had been introduced to the people sitting on the left side, thanks to Kiba. It looked like they were all friends.

"Oh, no," Kiba said, a look of horror on his face.

Naruto raised his head. "What?" he asked.

"They found you, Sasuke," Kiba stated, ignoring Naruto's question.

"What? Who?" Naruto pestered, now sitting up.

Sasuke snorted and crossed his arms over his chest while looking off to the side.

"And we didn't even get our lunches yet. Fuck," Kiba cursed.

"Who found Sasuke? What's going on?"

"Fangirls."

"Sasuke-kun!"

Just then, a pink blur along with a yellow one attached onto Sasuke's sides.

"Sasuke-kun!" they both resonated at the same time.

A group of girls followed afterwards, some carrying cameras. Naruto recognized the pink haired girl as Sakura, and the light blonde one as a girl in his first class.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" he waved at her, but she was too busy staring at Sasuke with starry eyes to answer.

Naruto let his hand fall awkwardly down to his side. Kiba sighed while shaking his head.

"You can't get through to them once they're in fangirl mode, Naruto, unless you have something better," Kiba informed.

Some girls got closer and started pushing Naruto and Kiba out of the way, as well as the other boys sitting around Sasuke.

"Man, Sasuke! Take your fangirls somewhere else! We don't want 'em!" Kiba yelled through shoves.

Sasuke gave him a glare that clearly said, 'Do you think_ I _want them?'.

Naruto leaned over to Kiba, thinking of a way to get all the girls away from their table. "Hey, do these girls go nuts over Sasuke's stuff?" he whispered.

"Huh?" Kiba looked at him with a strange face.

"Y'know, like the stuff he uses. Merchandise. Backpacks, pencils, towels, that sorta thing."

"Uh, come to think of it, yeah, they do."

"Ok, I think I got a plan, but when I do it, pull Sasuke away from the cafeteria. Got it?"

"Sure thing, buddy."

Naruto struggled with staying in his seat. These fangirls were strong! Naruto's patience was growing thin as the girls pushed harder, determined to steal his seat. He noted that Sasuke wasn't going to move anytime soon, so he decided to see how his plan would work out. Rummaging through his backpack his hand curled around the thing he was looking for. Smiling, he pulled it out of his bag.

Abrubtly, he stood up while holding the object high in the air and shouted, "I have Sasuke's shampoo! If anyone wants it, follow me!"

Sasuke looked up at Naruto with slightly wider eyes. Everyone else at the table turned speechless. Sasuke frowned deeply at what Naruto said. _'What the fuck. Dobe...'_

That, surprisingly, got the girls' attention. Naruto cheered in his mind that it worked. All the fangirls around the table stared at him with a gleam in their eye. Then, Naruto stopped to think of what he'd actually done. He pushed through the crowd and sprinted towards the doors with a hoard of girls right behind him.

_'Ahh, I should've thought this through!' _Naruto mentally slapped himself as he ran out of the cafeteria.

The rest of the occupants back at the table stared at the doors, shocked.

"Wow, that actually worked," Kiba spoke after a moment of silence.

Neji looked amused, Sasuke scowled, and Shikamaru put his head back down on the table.

"How interesting, that blonde boy is," Neji murmured.

"And troublesome," Shikamaru added.

"Hey, at least he got us out of that mess. C'mon, let's go," Kiba motioned for them to get up and follow him.

* * *

After finally getting rid of the vicious group of fangirls by running into the principal's office, Naruto slumped to the floor, exhausted. Jiraiya looked up from his computer and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, kid, what'dya do?" Jiraiya inquired.

"What makes you think I did anything?"

"Well, first off– "

"Nevermind, don't answer that. It's just... I kinda did something to get a lot of girls chasing me..."

"What?! And you ran away from it?! Naruto, my boy! I guess I haven't taught you enough about the great facts about a woman's body..."

"Oh, no, I've heard enough of those facts a long time ago. And for the reason I had girls chasing me... it was all the stupid Uchiha's fault."

"Huh? Uchiha as in Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Yeah."

Jiraiya let out a breathy laugh. "Naruto, I guess you don't know, yet, do you?"

"What? Know what?"

"The Uchiha kid's very well known in the fame category. He's always in the news or on magazine covers. The paparazzi are always following him around like stalkers. I never hear the end of it, I always get bothered by them because they want to come into my school."

"Che, figures. All the girls fawn over him like he's some angel sent from above, but I think he's a bastard. I don't know what they see in him."

"Fame and fortune can do a lot. His father used to own some big shot company, but after he died, it was all left to Sasuke to operate and manage."

"Ehh? His dad died?"

"Yeah, I don't know all the details, but supposedly his parents were murdered one night, six years ago. His older brother was no where to be found when the cops came, so they presume that he was the culprit. His brother's marked high up on the wanted list."

"Wow... I never knew... how sad..."

"Mmhm."

A moment of silence passed between them as their minds wandered elsewhere. Then, the bell rang, which signaled the end of lunch, and reminded Jiraiya to ask why Naruto wasn't in class.

"'Cause..." Naruto dragged out, trying to find an excuse, "do I have to? They could still be out there, and before I know it, I'll get mobbed. Besides, I have an off period right now."

"You should be glad they're chasing you, kid."

"It's not _me_ they're chasing after. It's this plastic shampoo bottle," Naruto grumbled while pulling it out of his backpack.

"I'm guessing it's the Uchiha's?"

"Yeah... I don't know why this gets their attention so much. It's just shampoo."

"Ah, well, it all goes back to the fame thing. Women go crazy over these things."

"God, they're so fucking complicated! It's so stupid– it's a bottle!" Naruto yelled while gripping his hair.

"You have much to learn about a woman's heart, Naruto. Anyways, you can't stay in my office, so get out."

"Aww, come on! You're not doing anything!"

"I'm doing important things that don't involve you."

"I bet you're just looking at dirty pictures again, you old pervert!"

"Hey, it's called _research_."

"If you don't let me stay here, I'll tell Tsunade baa-chan about this 'research' of yours, and you know how she is about you guys setting a good example for me."

Jiraiya paled at the thought of what Tsunade would do to him if she found out about his research.

"Ahh, fine. You can stay here–"

"Yes! Woo! Naruto wins again!"

Jiraiya shook his head at Naruto's behavior and went back to staring at his computer screen.

* * *

The last bell rang for the day, signaling that it was the end of school. Naruto jumped up from his spot on the ground and hurried out of the office with a small wave to Jiraiya.

_'Hmm, the back of the school should be this way, right...?'_ Naruto asked himself as he took another turn. Glass doors rimmed with metal greeted him at the end of the hallway. Naruto smiled contently to himself as he slipped passed the doors.

The back of the school had a small courtyard that was surrounded by trees and flowers.

_'Must be where gardeners do their activities,' _Naruto noted as he stared at all the different types of plants.

It felt so peaceful, so serene. Naruto sighed happily as he set his backpack on the ground and laid down next to it. Blades of grass tickled his fingers as the warm rays of the sun beat down on his skin. Closing his eyes, Naruto imagined that he was in a park. He always enjoyed parks. It was a time to spend with friends, family, or to just enjoy nature. It was something about this position that dragged out a fuzzy thought in the recesses of Naruto's mind. He remembered laying down like this somewhere. The feeling felt so familiar, but Naruto couldn't put his finger on it. The memory was too clouded to make out clearly. Before Naruto could gather a better meaning of it, a voice interrupted his thoughts, and the memory disappeared.

"Oi, Naruto, is that you?" a feminine voice called out, followed by a poke in the cheek.

Naruto opened one eye to see who was calling him, and sure enough, it was Sakura. His face lit up at the sight of her, and he swatted the hand away.

"Stop poking me, Sakura-chan!" he whined while propping himself up on his elbows.

She laughed. "Sorry, it just looked like you were dead on the grass. I've never seen you that still before."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto muttered back at her.

A comfortable silence settled between them until Sakura broke it by asking a question.

"How's everyone at the hospital doing?"

"Mm, they're doing fine, I guess."

"That's good. You eating well?"

"Yes, _mom_."

"Hey! I'm not that old!"

"Ow– you didn't have to hit me! I was kidding!"

"No you weren't! You better not call me that again, or I'll have to rip out your tongue and staple your mouth shut."

"Uwah, Sakura-chan is scary!"

They shared a laugh as Sakura joined Naruto in sitting on the grass. Silence enveloped them again, and they both looked up at the sky. A few minutes later, Naruto recognized Kiba's voice among the soft blowing wind.

"Naruto! You ready?"

Naruto looked up to see Kiba running towards him with Sasuke and Neji calmy walking behind. Naruto stood up and brushed his hands on his pants. He helped Sakura up and waved over the Kiba. When they finally met up, Naruto noticed that Shikamaru wasn't with them.

"Hey, where's Shikamaru?"

"He had to go home to help his mom with cooking," Kiba snorted, "Good luck with that. He can't even cut a whole carrot without giving up, the lazy ass."

Naruto chuckled while looking beside him to Sakura. He noticed how Sakura's eyes sparkled at the sight of Sasuke, and he remembered that he should probably invite her to come along. It wouldn't hurt to have Sakura tag along, would it?

"So ready to go?" Kiba repeated impatiently.

"Yeah, hold on a sec. Hey, Sakura," he started. She turned towards him. "Me and the guys are g–"

Naruto was suddenly quieted by a hand slapping over his mouth. He blinked, confused, and found that the hand belonged to Kiba. Kiba smiled innocently at Sakura while he excused himself and Naruto from the group.

Without letting go of his grip on Naruto's mouth, Kiba hissed, "If you invite her, Sasuke will _kill_ you in our sleep. Not to mention we'd be tortured by her loud mouth all night." Kiba looked warily back at Sakura who was trying to make conversation with Sasuke. "You will _not_ ask her to come, got it?"

Naruto nodded while prying Kiba's hand off. "You guys freak out about Sakura way too much. She's a nice person once you get to know her."

"Well, I don't plan to," Kiba explained as they walked back to the others.

Naruto waved off what he said earlier as a misunderstanding and said goodbye to Sakura. The group walked through the courtyard to the gates that separated land from school property.

"Why're we hopping the gate back here? Isn't the front much easier?" Naruto asked while he started mimicking the others' movements of getting over the gate.

"It's easier this way, trust me," Kiba answered. "We don't have to deal with the paparazzi if we go this way. Pretty boy over there always manages to attract swarms of them and they all wait at the front."

Sasuke grunted in annoyance as he continued to climb the gate. Naruto made a face of understanding and kept quiet after that.

Once they were over, they all headed to a car that was conveniently parked across the street. Naruto's eyes flashed with excitement as he whistled.

"Sweet ride!" he shouted.

"Yeah, she's a nice one. This baby's brand new," Kiba bragged as he touched the hood.

"So we're all taking your car, Kiba? Can I drive? Can I? Can I?" Naruto pleaded.

"You can't even walk in a straight line, why would we let you drive?" Sasuke pointed out.

"Shut up! I got my license a couple of weeks ago! I can drive!" Naruto shouted back.

Neji scoffed and got in the back seat, not really caring who drove. With much effort, yelling, and arguing, Naruto finally convinced Kiba to let him drive. They got in and buckled their seatbelts.

"Where're we going?" Naruto asked, grinning.

"Olive Garden. Know where it is?" Kiba informed.

"Yup!" With that, Naruto revved up the car and slammed on the gas pedal. When they got to the highway, everyone was already clutching at something, be it their seat or the side door, except for Naruto.

"God, Naruto! Slow down! You're driving like a maniac on crack! This is way over the speed limit!" Kiba screamed while squeezing the seatbelt in his hands tighter.

"Stop being a wuss, Kiba!" Naruto retorted as he sped across the highway.

"Naruto, when did you get your license again?" Neji strained, speaking for the first time.

"Hmm, three weeks ago? I don't remember, but I got it with the help of my friends at the orphanage a while back," Naruto answered.

"And they _passed _you?" Kiba inquired, bewildered.

"Of course!" Naruto smiled cheekily.

The sounds of the wind smashing against the window panes and tires on asphalt filled the inside of the car. Sasuke kept thinking back to what Naruto had said. _'He used to go to an orphanage?' _Sasuke quickly shook that thought out of his mind. He didn't need to worry about minuscule things like that right now.

Through the ride, Naruto started rambling on about the day's events. Seemingly oblivious to what was happening on the road. Sasuke stared out of the front windshield, bored. He propped his elbow up on the side door and watched the passing scenery. Everyone had gotten a little more used to the way Naruto drove as time moved by, and soon, it was tolerable.

As the car closed in on an intersection, the stoplight turned red. Noticing the car not slowing down at all, Sasuke's eyes flickered to Naruto's expression, which was unaware of the light.

"Dobe! Red light!" he hollered at the blonde.

"Huh? Oh!" Naruto noticed just in time to stomp on the brakes. Everyone lurched forward in their seats and a few honks were heard behind them. "Eheh, sorry guys!" Naruto apologized while putting a hand behind his head and turning slightly in his seat, "I always seem to have trouble with watching out for red lights."

The other three shocked and slightly disheveled boys let out a breath of relief as a response.

"You've got to be one of the worst drivers out there," Sasuke mumbled as he rubbed his face with one hand.

* * *

They arrived at Olive Garden with minor problems after that. Naruto bounced in through the entrance with the others following behind. They stood behind a post, waiting for the attendant to appear and take their seating arrangements. Kiba was clutching his keys in his hands, sending people looks when they stared at him, bemused.

"Dude, I am _never_ letting you put my baby in that much danger again," Kiba exclaimed to Naruto with shifty eyes. Naruto rolled his as he saw how alert Kiba was.

"Relax. She didn't get a scratch on her," Naruto reassured him.

"If I find one, you're paying for it, blondie."

"Whatever, mutt."

"Why you!" Kiba raised his fist in challenge, but before a fight could break out, someone clearaed their throat.

The boys' attention went to a young woman wearing a crisp uniform and holding menus in her hand.

"How many, sir?" she asked the closest one to her, which happened to be Sasuke. She eyed him with interest as he turned his gaze onto her to give an answer.

"Four," he answered tersely giving her a glare as she ogled him, "A secluded table would be preferable."

As she continued staring, recognition appeared on her features. Nodding quickly, a sickly sweet smile spread on her lips.

"Right this way, Uchiha-san!" she announced, flustered. She was actually leading _the_ Uchiha Sasuke to a table! She would so have to tell her friends about this.

Making a bee line towards a quiet section in the restaurant, she placed down their menus on a table, and flashed them another sugary sweet smile.

"Your server will be out here in a moment, have a nice stay," she prompted towards the four boys. Before she left, she gave Sasuke a wink when she thought no one else was looking.

Sasuke's face turned into one of disgust as he pulled out a chair and took a seat. Kiba poked him in the ribs with his elbow as he sat down as well.

"That hot waitress was giving you looks, Sasuke. You interested? Hmm?" Kiba teased.

"Hn, as if," Sasuke sneered while picking up a menu.

All four boys got settled into their chairs while they waited for their server to come ask for their orders. The waiter, that was thankfully a dignified man, left to go prepare their preferred drinks and meals.

Naruto looked around at the painted walls and framed pictures. It was a nice restaurant, with others chatting away, dim lighting, and soft classical music in the background.

"Ahh, I wish they had ramen here," Naruto sulked.

"This is an Italian restaurant, dobe. Why would they serve ramen?"

"'Cause it's good."

"Ramen is unhealthy, Naruto. It's filled with saturated fats and artificial flavoring," Neji stated calmly.

Naruto childishly stuck his tongue out at Neji. "Whatever, Mr. Know-it-all!"

A superior smirk crossed Neji's face, but before Naruto had a chance to wipe it off, the salad and bread arrived. The waiter passed out equal portions of the salad and added the freshly grated cheese to it accordingly. After the man left, Naruto and Kiba both dug into their salad. Sasuke and Neji ate at a slower pace, chewing softly and soundlessly. Naruto and Kiba, however, were unaware of the few peculiar stares they were attracting as they shoveled salad and breadsticks down their throats.

Sasuke and Neji seemed to be used to the lack of manners, having already seen it on many occasions with Kiba. Halfway through shoveling, Naruto choked on his huge bite of salad and had to beat his chest to help him swallow it down. After that, Naruto began eating slower and finally noticed an olive amidst his salad. He eyed the olive that sat on his plate, silently taunting him.

_'Eww. An olive. I hate olives,' _Naruto thought disgusted.

He pushed the olive off to the side of his plate with his fork, so that he didn't have to worry about it again. The olive proved to be persistent, though, as it rolled off the side to come back to the center of the plate. Naruto glared at the olive, and it looked like it was glaring back. Naruto narrowed his eyes at it, and the others were oblivious to the staring contest happening between them.

Naruto pointed a finger at it while saying in his mind, _'Look here, you stupid olive. You may be trying to look innocent just sitting there on my plate, but I know what you're up to. You want me to eat you, so that I'll get that nasty after taste you always get when you eat olives.'_ Naruto picked the olive up with his fork to set it eye level with himself. _'Well, not today, stupid, little olive!' _Naruto announced as he flicked it off his fork with his left hand.

The olive soared through the air for a short while before coming in contact with a pale arm. Sasuke was in the middle of bringing up a bite of salad when all of a sudden, an olive hit his right forearm. Setting his fork down on his plate, he looked up to glare at Naruto. The olive had to have been shot from a position right across from Sasuke, and that spot was occupied by Naruto.

_'I should've expected something idiotic like this would happen,'_ Sasuke mentally grumbled. Sasuke decided to ignore the action and continue eating his salad. He was above throwing food in a restaurant.

Under a larger piece of lettuce, Naruto found another olive. Naruto repeated the process of flicking it off his fork, thinking, _'Go join your little friend on the floor! Take that!'_

The olive hit the pale hand of one Uchiha Sasuke and landed onto the table, unmoving. Sasuke growled, annoyed.

"Dobe, stop throwing olives at me," Sasuke demanded while sending daggers towards Naruto. Kiba and Neji took their eyes off their food to put their attention on Sasuke.

Naruto looked up innocently from his salad. "What do you mean? I didn't throw anything at you."

Sasuke huffed. "Then what do you call this, usuratonkachi?" Sasuke asked while picking up the olive on the table.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the olive. '_You!'_ he said to himself, but before he could go into a rant inside his mind, Sasuke cleared his throat. Naruto refocused his eyes on Sasuke and let out a nervous chuckle. He rubbed the back of his head while explaining, "You see... well... I didn't want it on my plate, so I flicked it off my fork... and– I guess it, uh, sorta hit you."

Sasuke snorted at the comment. "Don't flick olives. You're going to make us look like fools."

"Basta– "

Neji was the one to clear his throat this time. "You best not swear in a restaurant, Naruto. It isn't proper."

Naruto clamped his mouth shut, but continued to glare at the man across from him. Sasuke directed a smug smirk towards Naruto upon seeing his glare.

"Aww, Naruto, come on, cheer up!" Kiba soothed while patting his back. "You can always throw breadsticks," he joked.

Naruto laughed. "You're right! Thanks, Kiba!"

Kiba grinned along side Naruto as Sasuke rolled his eyes and went to eating his salad. That is, until a piece of bread hit him on the chest. His eye twitched as he heard Naruto trying to stifle his laughter. He kept his eyes trained on his salad, determined to not let Naruto get to him. Another piece hit his head, and that's when he snapped.

"Usuratonkachi!" Sasuke whispered vehemently as he threw a breadstick across the table at Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened, but he kept on laughing. He ducked at the breadstick aimed for his head and threw a piece of of his own. Kiba snickered as he watched the mini food fight. Neji sighed and tried to ignore them as he kept eating.

Neji tried to make it seem like he was not associated with the other three, but it was kind of hard since he was sitting at the same table. Luckily, only a few people heard the battle because they were in a secluded part of the restaurant.

After the food fight was deemed finished, Sasuke and Naruto were covered in bits of food as well as the table and floor around them. Kiba was still laughing and Neji was still in his own private, little world.

"Jackass," Naruto shot in a hushed tone.

"Hn."

They both got up to go to the restroom and clean up. While at the sink, Naruto was picking off the pieces of bread and salad that stuck to him. Sasuke was straitening himself out as he stared at his reflection in the mirror.

"You could've said something nicer, then maybe I would've said sorry," Naruto explained, "But it's too late for that, isn't it, bastard?"

"Tch, and you could've not thrown food at me."

"Well, you were asking for it! Besides, I didn't mean to throw those olives at you, and," Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat and regretfully choked out, "sorry."

"Glad to hear it," Sasuke replied dryly.

"Hey! You're supposed to say something nice back, you teme!"

"Why should I?"

"Argh! Bastard!" Naruto shouted to the retreating back of the Uchiha. The door closed and Naruto was left alone.

Naruto cursed silently as he washed his hands. Soap and water splashed around haphazardly as Naruto angrily scrubbed at his hands. He dried them and walked out of the room.

Naruto took note of how their meals were already present at the table. He took his seat, quietly fuming. The conversation picked up while they were eating and the battle was forgotten. Kiba and Naruto made jokes, Sasuke smirked, and Neji joined in on some topics, providing his opinion.

The bits of food that were scattered around the group, and on the table, were the only hints that a food fight ever took place. Everyone finished their meals, and they were sitting in their chairs, making small talk. Relaxed, they waited for the waiter to give them the check.

Naruto felt his right pocket vibrating and pulled out the new phone he had gotten from Iruka. The orange and black cellphone vibrated once more in Naruto's hand as he checked the caller.

_'Iruka?'_ he thought as a puzzled look settled on his features.

Naruto looked up from the phone to the guys sitting around him.

"Er... I gotta take this. Back in a flash," he told them as he got out of his chair. The others nodded to him as he left.

Naruto strolled over to a quiet corner in the restaurant, located near the entrance and waiting room.

He flipped open his phone and put it to his ear. "Hey, Iruka! Why'd you call all of a sudden? I told you I'd be out with some friends."

"Naruto... I–" Iruka's voice cracked.

"Iruka...?" Naruto asked the man, his eyes showing concern.

* * *

_Four hours earlier..._

"Konoha Hospital, how may I help you?" a woman with short, dark hair spoke into the phone she was holding.

"Listen closely and don't say a word," a crisp voice replied.

Startled by the strange answer, Shizune pulled back the phone to stare at it. She held it back up to her ear as her eyebrows knit together in confusion. She was about to ask the person if he had the wrong number, or if it was just a joke, but the man on the other line cut her off.

"Very soon, an explosion will make itself known in the east wing of the hospital; promptly followed by others not too far off. I want you to get your boss and both exit the building. _Now."_

Shizune blinked. _'An explosion...? This guy has got to be kidding me.'_

"You don't have much time. If you value the life of your boss and yours, do as I say," the calm voice announced.

"Wait– who are you?" Shizune asked, ignoring the fact that she wasn't supposed to talk.

There was a pause. "That's none of your importance. All I need you to do is leave the building. Immediately."

Before Shizune could retort, the line went dead. Shizune hung up the phone and thought over the situation. _'Could this all be some kind of trick? Who was that guy and what was he trying to pull?' _Shizune went over her options. She didn't get prank calls often, and the voice on the other line seemed to have a hint of urgency in its tone.

Shizune looked up from her desk and watched as other nurses and doctors littered the halls, oblivious to the warning. Sighing, Shizune waved it off as some psycho trying to get the best of her. She went back to typing.

A few minutes later, there was rumbling and a loud, booming noise could be heard. Shizune's head snapped up from what she was doing. She stared in the direction the sound came from, and her eyes widened.

The people in the hospital were in a state of panic. Everyone was rushing in different directions, horror etched onto their faces.

Shizune stood from behind her desk and grabbed onto the arm of an intern running passed her.

"What's going on?" she asked the frightened boy.

"I don't know. I think it's the right side of the hospital. Someone said that it suddenly blew up!" the young intern explained hysterically.

Shizune, after letting the boy go and thanking him, scrambled with picking up the phone on the desk. Once she had it in her shaking grip, she dialed 911. She gave the address and situation to the person on the other line. When that was done, she hung up and hurried hastily to Tsunade's office.

Shizune found her bolting down the hallway in the opposite direction. Shizune turned around and picked up her pace so they could be side by side.

"Tsunade-sama! This is an emergency, we need to leave!" Shizune shouted over the uproar around them.

"Shizune, we can't do that right now! I need to help evacuate everyone!" Tsunade argued.

"But Tsunade-sama! I suggest we leave the building now; everyone will exit safely of their own accord," Shizune stressed, worried over her boss's life more so than everyone else's.

"I am not going to leave when people are still in danger, Shizune." Tsunade gave her a glare as they continued weaving through the crowd.

"But..." Shizune's mind recalled the conversation she had over the phone a few moments ago. "Tsunade-sama, there are going to be more explosions soon. We're going to die if we stay here any longer!"

Tsunade stopped running and regarded the form of Shizune's words with questioning eyes. "How do you know that?"

"No time to explain– let's go!"

Shizune grabbed Tsunade by the arm and yanked her in the direction of the closest exit. Tsunade snapped out of her thoughts and ripped herself out of Shizune's grip.

"I'm sorry, Shizune, but I need to make sure the staff and the patients are okay."

With that, she turned around and ran down the corridor. Shizune's eyes held fear as she peered at the digital clock on the wall. Ten minutes have passed since the first explosion. The man had said that the next ones weren't that far apart. Shizune let worry take over as she dashed after Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama!" she screamed, hoping that she still had time– that everyone still had time.

Outside the hospital, a huge fire engulfed one side of it as police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks made their way into the parking lot. Lights flashed and gleamed against the asphalt. They contrasted greatly with the dusky, midnight sky above as workers swiftly got out of their cars.

Before any of them could register what was going on, or do anything about the situation, another explosion went off on the other side of the hospital. This one was followed by several others until Konoha Hospital was only seen as a mere building enveloped in flames.

Screams mixed in with yells as the whines of sirens and the gleam of colored lights multiplied.

* * *

"N-Naruto," Iruka repeated. "It's..."

_'For Iruka to have this hard of a time to get something out... this has got to be bad,'_ Naruto thought, instantly troubled.

He wasn't even using the added suffix '-kun' to the end of Naruto's name. This made it all the more serious. Naruto got more worried when he heard a sob come from the other line. He clutched the phone with both hands and listened closely. Fear crossed his face as he silently urged Iruka to finish the sentence; to tell him what was wrong, what had happened. Naruto's grip tightened as he drew in a breath.

"It's Konoha Hospital, Naruto."

Naruto's drawn in breath caught in his throat. Tsunade and Shizune flashed through his mind. Something painful stirred inside his stomach.

"It... there was a bomb... an explosion... s-someone..." Iruka paused as another sob ripped through his mouth. "Someone killed them."

Naruto let the phone ease out of his hand and slip pass his fingers as it dropped to the floor. It clattered against the tiles as Naruto's breathing grew frantic. He didn't need to be told twice to understand who Iruka was referring to. He became distant, his eyes unfocused, and paid no attention to the conversations of others around him; nor did he hear the clinking of plates as customers continued eating. He didn't hear the shouts of Kiba or the others calling him back over. He didn't hear anything; they all meshed together into a hazy buzzing in his ears. The only thing he could concentrate on was the rapid beating of his heart as it drummed wildly inside his ears.

Without a second thought, he rushed over to the door, cellphone forgotten, as he shoved it open, and ran desperately towards the direction of Konoha Hospital.

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**New Summary: 16 year old Naruto is an orphan and has no recollection of his past before age 11. The thing is, Naruto's okay with it. But when dealing with murders, high school, and one famous Uchiha, it's hard to keep dark memories from resurfacing. AU, Sasunaru.**

**Neji's character is so hard to write! Urgh! I don't want him to _only_ talk about fate and destiny, that's such a bore!I've been making Lee and Gai say 'youth' too much, haven't I? But, hey, it's their favorite word! … At least... I think it is...**

**Hmm, this didn't come out as how I planned it. I guess it just wrote itself. Ha... And this story has more humor in it than angst right now... well, the rain cloud of angst comes later! D:**

**Again, sorry for the long wait. :sweatdrop: I hope the length of this chapter will make up for it. I never knew it would turn out to be this long. Also, thank you for reading and/or reviewing!**

**Liked/hated the chapter? Comments and criticism are always welcome! :D**

**Oh, and I might be changing the title to 'Resiliency', just letting you guys know ahead of time. (Man, new summary _and_ title?– it's like a new story altogether!)**


	5. Child's Play: Part 1

Hello! Welcome back! Thanks to those who reviewed/read. :D

Okay, okay. I'm finally out of the hole I've been living in for the past couple of months. I'm so very sorry to those who've had to wait the entire time I was... occupied. Yeah. This took _wayyy_ longer to write than expected. I had about four scenes left undone, and that was six to seven months ago. Those scenes were yucky. :(

Congratulations! You, my dear, have survived ten months in the waiting room! Your prizes include my apologies, a new story title, and this chapter! Hooray!

Oh, and to **Yesshe**, I cannot even begin to tell you how ashamed I am! :hides face: I told you two days, but I guess I should've said like two years, or something. l;dkgjiwna;gr

**Warnings: Yaoi! Language. Unbeta'd. Violence. Possible OOCness. Long updates. Oh, and a new one– character death. (Forgive me for not adding this earlier. Deaths include innocent civilians. :D)**

**Disclaimer: :sigh: Plans backfired. Spoon method sucked. Concrete plastic. Trying to run sucked even more. Escaping with the help of a friend– none were willing. Trying to smooth talk my way out failed, too. I got moved to a more secured cell because of all my recent attempts at freedom. Might as well say it with my self esteem already this low. I don't own anything.**

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Kiba, Sasuke, and Neji waited for the check as Naruto took a phone call. The waiter came with the bill, they paid, and were given chocolate mints as a departing gift.

"Hmm, d'you think Naruto would mind if I stole his mint?" Kiba wondered aloud. He thought over it for a minute, staring at the item in front of Naruto's chair. "Nahh," he concluded, answering himself as he reached for it.

The boys waited for Naruto to come back from his unexpected call, but it was taking fairly longer than they thought it would. Soon, Kiba decided it was time that they found him and left.

Getting up, he searched for a mop of blonde hair. Spotting it near the entrance, he made a gesture for Neji and Sasuke to follow him.

"Looks like he's still on the phone," Kiba announced, "Ah, well, whoever it's with, I'm gonna have to break it up."

Waving over to Naruto, he called out, "Yo, blondie! We should get going!" After a few more tries to get his attention, Kiba frowned. Naruto didn't even so much as glance at him.

Sasuke scowled at having to wait longer for Naruto to finish up, and Neji raised an eyebrow. Kiba was about to try again until he noticed the look of terror on Naruto's face.

"Wha..." Kiba let the word hang in the air as he watched Naruto drop the cellphone out of his hand. The boys stared with startled eyes as Naruto's hands shook and clutched his head. Kiba stepped closer to the blonde boy, intending to comfort him, with the other two right behind, but before they could get close enough, Naruto ran out of the restaurant, leaving the others behind to question his odd behavior.

"What... what was that all about?" Kiba asked no one in particular.

"Probably an upsetting conversation," Neji put in.

Sasuke stared impassively at the dropped phone and then to the doors. He made his way towards the phone and picked it up. Eying it carefully, he flipped it closed.

"We should probably follow him, check out what's wrong," Kiba suggested to the other two boys. He shrugged when no one made a move, and passed them to leave the restaurant by himself. Neji followed suit.

Sasuke stood by the entrance, still staring at the phone in his hand. His mind started to wander off as his eyes traced the outline of the black and orange device. The roar of an engine pulled him away from his thoughts as he looked through the windows on the entrance doors to see Kiba starting up his car. Sasuke pocketed the cellphone and exited the building.

After the engine started to hum a soft purr, signaling that it was warmed up and ready, Kiba let his gaze fall on his hands that were gripped around the steering wheel.

"Where do you suppose he was headed off to?" Kiba asked, his eyes flickered towards the two in the backseat through the head mirror before coming back to his hands. Silence answered him. Kiba grit his teeth. "What are we all so quiet about all of a sudden?! Somebody say something, dammit! I know you two aren't all high and dandy about socializing, but you could at least help!"

Neji was the first to speak up. "He couldn't have gotten far, try driving towards downtown. He could be going in that direction."

Kiba nodded and pulled out of the parking lot. The drive was thick with unwanted tension, neither of the boys making a sound. Kiba and Neji searched the area for any blondes, but found none as they drove further down the road. Sasuke didn't bother to assist the others. Instead, he chose to glare harshly at the seat in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest and hands balled into fists.

At a stoplight, Kiba noticed Sasuke's lack of enthusiasm. "Dude, why aren't you helping us look for him?"

"There's no need to. Whatever he was in such a rush for is none of our business– it's his. There's no reason to get involved."

"Sasuke, I know you saw the look on his face before he left. It was full of pain. Haven't you ever witnessed that look before?" Sasuke's hands unconsciously clenched tighter. His nails dug into flesh and his knuckles turned white while Kiba went on. "Don't you want to help him, to see what's wrong? Isn't he your friend–"

"He's not my friend!" Sasuke yelled back, making Kiba recoil at the sudden outburst. "He's just some idiotic moron that tagged along with us for one night. He is nowhere near a friend, he's a nobody. I don't care what he does with his life. He doesn't need us, and I don't need him."

Kiba was about to say something back, but the honks of other cars interrupted him. Glancing at the stoplight and noticing that it had already turned green, Kiba pressed down on the gas pedal and the car accelerated past the intersection. No one said a word as the car traveled deeper into the city, the bitter winds of winter settling in, while the night trudged on.

**

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Naruto's breath came in pants as he continued to jog towards the hospital. His legs were burning despite the frosty winds that nipped at his skin and made them sting, but he couldn't bear to let himself rest– not while the lives of people he cared about were in danger. Naruto kept up his frantic pace, regardless of the aching feelings all around his body. He couldn't make himself believe Iruka's words. He couldn't accept that Tsunade and Shizune were already dead.

_'No. No! They have to be alive. They can't go like this– not after all we've been through... Please... Please, don't die on me!'_ Naruto hoped desperately as the hospital finally came into view. He refused to consider the possibility of them already being dead. He spotted a huge smoke cloud as it reigned above the building, rising to the dusky sky. The flames seemed to lash out at the night as it sparked around the smoke.

Naruto paused in his running to survey the hospital. His breath coming out as visible puffs in the icy air. He could barely distinguish that it was once a building anymore. The whole thing was ablaze. Spotting the firetrucks and police cars, he dashed off the concrete and onto the asphalt of the parking lot.

Naruto's eyes were trained on the sight. The image of fire burned into his memory. He vaguely felt a nostalgic feeling wash over him as he ran, but he brushed it off. It was probably nothing. As the blonde got closer, the sound of sirens and chatter grew more intense. It was until Naruto was near the crowd that had gathered in front of the entrance that he stopped to actually observe everyone around him.

There was yellow tape separating the civilians and reporters from the firemen and cops. Ambulances littered the parking lot space, as well as firetrucks. Every man and woman beyond the tape were working as quickly and efficiently as possible to get the people inside the hospital out safely. Cameras flashed from multiple directions as civilians and one or two news reporters watched the scene unfold.

Naruto pushed his way to the front of the crowd, just behind the yellow tape. His eyes darted from the injured to the working, the lights to the flares. Unconsciously, a hand went to grip the blue crystal around his neck. His throat felt dry as he viewed the scenes occurring in front of him.

His eyes darted from stretcher to stretcher, searching for two people in particular. Panicking when he didn't catch a glimpse of them anywhere, he turned his gaze back to the building. He suddenly had the urge to get closer. Careful to avoid being seen by the officers keeping the crowd at bay, Naruto slipped under the tape.

Dashing behind a car, Naruto peeked over the edge to see if anyone had caught him. Deciding the coast was clear, Naruto ran towards the next one. His ears were ringing, but he didn't care as he advanced nearer to the hospital entrance.

When Naruto was close enough, he stared up in awe at the building. Crumbled pieces of the building lay on the pavement, scattered haphazardly. Just when Naruto was about to go to the next car, a tug roughly brought him up from his crouching position.

"What're you doing here, kid?" a gruff voice announced. Naruto squirmed around to see who it was. The man had a tight hold of the back of his collar, so Naruto's struggling didn't do much.

"Well?" the man pushed, anger creeping its way into his voice.

Naruto gave up struggling and settled with replying, but hesitated. Why _did_ he get this close to the fire? To see if Tsunade and Shizune were among the hundreds that were wounded?

"I wanted to see something," Naruto gathered hurriedly.

Naruto's collar loosened as the man let go of him and spun him around. Naruto was suddenly face to face with a fireman. Apparently, Naruto's answer wasn't good enough for the adult standing in front of him.

"Don't take me for an idiot, kid. You should know that being this close without being trained is dangerous. Now, tell me the real reason you crossed the tape," he spoke over the chaos, searching Naruto's face.

"That is the real reason!" Naruto shouted, eyes blaring.

The fireman's face remained stern, scrutinizing Naruto. Then, he let out a sigh, and his face turned into a sincere one.

"You got someone in there that you care about, huh?" the man asked.

Naruto's glare loosened up at the unexpected question, and a look of vulnerability took over for a moment as he nodded. The fireman smiled at Naruto's actions.

"I can relate. The feeling of wanting to help and save the ones you care about, but not being able to. I used to have that all the time when I was younger. That's why I became a fireman, so I could help rescue people," the man explained.

Naruto nodded again, showing that he was listening.

"Don't worry, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. We got some pretty amazing people working on the job. I know you want to help, but right now, you'd just be in the way," the fireman finished.

"I wouldn't be in the way! I'm strong! I could help! I–" Naruto started to protest.

"I'm sure you're strong, but not strong enough. Someday you'll get there, but now... you're just a kid. Sorry, but I think it's best if you go home for the night. Let the adults handle this one," the fireman cut in, turning Naruto around and giving him a push in the other direction.

Naruto stumbled forward a little, but caught himself before he fell. He turned around to try and argue again, but the fireman was already gone. He let out a sigh. Not wanting to be scolded for being caught the second time, he retreated back behind the yellow tape unseen.

Not bothered that he was getting pushed while going through the crowd, Naruto walked further away from the building. Finding a clear enough spot, Naruto turned around and sat down. He stared at the flames, making his eyes reflect a golden hue. The blaze illuminated his body with its intense gleam. His silhouette dancing along to the audible crackles coming from the fire.

The feeling of nostalgia came back as Naruto let his thoughts take over. The trance seemed to disappear when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning slightly, he saw that the hand belonged to Iruka. His adoptive father smiled down at him. It wasn't filled with happiness, nor was it filled with pity. It was sad, so very sad. Naruto decided he didn't like that expression on Iruka. It didn't suit him.

Naruto offered a small smile in return. He got up from the floor and followed Iruka to the car. Once they got in, Iruka started to drive home, and Naruto was left to stare out the window. He let his head rest on the side of the door as he focused on the thick, sombre clouds hovering atop the remains of the hospital.

Naruto smiled ruefully as he laid back in his seat.

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"Naruto...?" Iruka asked timidly as he knocked. Silence met him. "Naruto-kun... you've been in your room since last night... do you want to come out and talk?"

Nothing happened as Iruka stood in front of Naruto's room. It was eight in the morning and he had a feeling that Naruto hadn't gotten any sleep during the night, so there was a chance that Naruto was sleeping now. Iruka sighed. He was worried, and he didn't know what to do. He wanted Naruto to talk it out, but he figured that because they'd only known each other for a few days, Naruto wouldn't be comfortable with consulting him about personal matters.

Iruka tried to knock again, but before he could do that, a door opened at the end of the hallway. Out came an already dressed Naruto sporting a wide grin as he chirped, "Good morning!"

"Naruto-kun?" Iruka asked, confused, "You're already done preparing for school?"

"Yup!" came the overly cheerful reply.

"Aren't you tired? You must have not gotten any sleep last night..."

"Pfft, what are you talking about? I slept all night!"

"Oh... well, you never really struck me as an early riser."

"Course I am!"

Naruto stood by the doorway, his grin still in place. Iruka stared at him closely. He walked up to Naruto and studied his face.

With his bright mood never faltering, Naruto asked, "What're you doing, Iruka? Is there something on my face?"

Iruka ignored his question and looked right in Naruto's eyes. When Naruto started getting nervous, Iruka took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're not going to school today," Iruka stated calmly.

"What! Why, Iruka?! It's my first B day!" Naruto protested.**(1)**

Iruka's eyes narrowed. "My decision is final, you're not going to school."

"What do you mean I can't go to school?! Aren't you the one that wants me to go?" Naruto yelled, throwing a fit.

"Look... just take a day off. Relax, you need it."

Naruto made a whiny sound and caved in. "Okay, Iruka."

The two continued to stare at each other until Naruto noticed the time. "Don't you have to get to work early today?" he asked.

"Oh! Yes, I do. I should get going, and I called someone over to keep you company. You'll recognize them right away, so open the door when they arrive. I left your breakfast on the table. Bye," Iruka shouted over his shoulder as he exited out the house.

Naruto nodded to Iruka's back and waved as the front door slammed closed. Moving back into the living room, Naruto plopped down onto the couch. _'I wonder who Iruka invited?' _After a few minutes of thinking, he decided that his company wouldn't be showing up for a couple more hours, so he got up to eat his food.

Lying on the couch with the television on, Naruto was getting drowsy. He almost dozed off to sleep until the doorbell rang. Sitting up, Naruto slowly dragged himself off the couch and over to the door. The doorbell was going off like crazy.

_'Geez, someone's not be patient. It's probably the person Iruka invited over,'_ Naruto mused as he yawned. "All right, all right! I'm coming!"

Rubbing the sleep from his eye, Naruto opened the door. There was a blur and then Naruto was on the floor. Being tackled to the ground did wonders to Naruto's sluggish state as he was now fully awake.

"WE WERE SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" screamed the weight on top of him while cradling his head. "I'M SO SORRY!"

Naruto's face was stuffed in a chest as the stranger kept hugging him. Said person sat up and squeezed him one last time before pulling away. Naruto blinked owlishly at the woman in front of him. It was Akina. Naruto looked towards the door and found a smiling Rikka holding her luggage.

"It's been a little over a day and you guys come back to see me already?" Naruto asked. "Where's Fuyu?"

Rikka fanned her hand in Naruto's direction and laughed. "It's nice to see you too, Naruto-kun. Glad to know you missed us," she joked.

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto grinned. Akina and Naruto rose to their feet while Rikka stepped inside.

"Well, someone had to run the orphanage, so he volunteered to stay back. He sends his love," Rikka informed.

Naruto nodded. "It's good that you guys are doing fine. How's everything?"

"Good," Rikka announced. Her eyes flickered to Akina before landing back on Naruto.

Naruto noticed this. He frowned, thinking. Seeing the gesture again, he put on a happy face and voiced, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong! Let's go watch some movies, or something," Akina replied in a rush as she skipped towards the living room.

"Yeah! That's a great idea, Akina," Rikka agreed before Naruto could question their behavior again, and followed her friend towards the television. She placed her luggage by the couch and dropped onto the cushions. Akina was choosing the movie when Naruto walked in and sat next to Rikka.

Deciding to ignore their strange moods for now, Naruto relaxed deeper into the couch as Akina pushed the play button. The movie was obviously a way of Akina trying to lift the atmosphere. It was a comedy. Naruto laughed along with his friends, but soon found his mind going elsewhere. He didn't snap out of it until the movie was over.

"That was a funny one," Rikka commented.

"Yeah, Iruka-san has a nice movie collection," Akina praised.

"Hmm, what should we do now?" Rikka turned to Naruto with questioning eyes. "Any ideas?"

"Ah, well, we could go out. I haven't had the chance to get to know the area. I only know my way to school because Iruka showed me," Naruto answered.

"Okay, it's settled, we'll walk around the neighborhood!" Akina chirped while clasping her hands together.

"Hold on, I need to tell Iruka." Naruto's eyes swept over the room, looking for his cell phone. He patted his pockets to see if it was there, but came up with nothing. "Huh, I could've sworn I brought it home with me... Have you seen my cell? It has Iruka's work number in it."

Akina squealed. "You got a phone?! We–"

"–haven't seen it," Rikka finished quickly.

Naruto nodded and started thinking back, too busy to notice the nervous tension. Akina and Rikka watched him carefully as he concentrated. They didn't miss how his face scrunched up during the middle of it all. They shared another look before getting up.

"Doesn't matter! It's just a cell phone, you probably left it somewhere around the house. Let's leave a letter instead," Rikka suggested.

"But–" Naruto argued.

"No buts! I already wrote the letter. Let's go, let's go!" Akina shooed Naruto towards the front door.

The walk was calming. Akina and Rikka filled the silence with their stories while Naruto took in the scenery. He noticed that the neighborhood was remotely quiet and serene. It was nothing like downtown back at the orphanage. It felt like a different place altogether.

Naruto's eyes drooped to the concrete below as he let his thoughts take over. From beside him, Akina and Rikka noticed his gloomy look. Though his face didn't show much, they knew him long enough to know that he was unhappy. They knew right when they walked in that his mood had turned to a new low. Looking at each other, they had another silent agreement before voicing their plan.

"Let's get some ice cream!" Akina shouted excitedly.

"Yeah! I think I saw one just outside of the neighborhood when we were driving here," Rikka exclaimed.

Naruto nodded, not fully paying attention to the two girls. Akina let out an exasperated noise and grabbed both of her friends' hands. Dragging them across the sidewalk, she followed Rikka's instructions on where to go.

A chime rang when the door of the ice cream parlor opened. Naruto, Akina, and Rikka strolled inside and were hit by a blast of cold air. It was themed as a classic diner. There were tall, red stools as well as checkered tile floors. Neon signs blared from every wall and old, colorless pictures hung next to them. A smooth, metallic silver bordered the counters and stools, clearly reflecting the interior of the store. Peering over the vast majority of customers, Naruto spotted Sakura and Ino clinging onto a disgruntled Sasuke.

Rikka told Naruto and Akina to pick a table while she ordered the sweets. After taking their choice of flavors, she scampered over to the order line.

While he waited, Naruto called over to Sakura from his table. Whipping her head to see who had called her name, Sakura noticed Naruto sitting next to a young woman. Smiling, she waved over to Naruto and pulled Sasuke along with her towards the blonde. From the other arm, Ino trailed behind.

"Hey guys, what's up?" asked Naruto as he eyed Sasuke's scowl.

"I'm just getting some ice cream with Sasuke-kun!" Sakura chirped. As an afterthought, she added, "Oh, and with the pig, too." She waved a hand nonchalantly at Ino's general area.

"Forehead! Sasuke-kun wanted to get ice cream with _me_, you're obviously the third wheel here," Ino sneered.

The girls started their usual argument as Sasuke slipped away with muttering something about getting the ice cream. Naruto stared at the two and back to Akina who was out right laughing at this point.

"Oh, this made my day! I can't believe– it's just like– and they– and he– so entertaining!" Akina blurted out between giggles.

Sakura and Ino stopped their banter to watch Akina try and calm down.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, go on," Akina encouraged the girls with a wave of her hand while using her other to wipe away a few loose tears.

Smiling nervously, Naruto introduced everyone. "Sakura-chan, Ino, this is Akina-chan, a friend of mine. Akina-chan, Sakura-chan and Ino."

The three exchanged greetings and smiles as Naruto pointed over to the line at the cashier. "That's Rikka-chan over there, and the guy is Sasuke."

They all gathered around the table and made small talk while they waited. Sakura suddenly perked up when she remembered something.

"Hey, Naruto, why weren't you at school today? I didn't see you at lunch..." Sakura asked.

"About that... I, uh, I was busy," Naruto answered, a hand coming up to scratch the back of his head.

"Oh, okay." Sakura turned towards Ino and Akina to join in on their conversation.

Naruto let out a breath, relieved that Sakura didn't press any further. He wondered why Sakura wasn't acting out of character. She was close to Tsunade, wasn't she? Was she not sad? Maybe she was hiding her true feelings, like himself? It was sure to have hit the news by now... Naruto mused over it as his eyes drifted over to the front of the shop.

Rikka placidly stood in line while the boy she saw over by Naruto step in behind her. Not wanting to wait in silence, she turned around to address the boy.

"Hello, I'm Rikka. You know Naruto?" she stretched out her hand and smiled at him.

Sasuke eyed the hand, making no movement to shake it. He opted for crossing his arms and grunting in response.

_'Oh, great, a rude, quiet one,'_ Rikka grumbled.

"I'm a friend of Naruto's. He's such a ball of sunshine, don't you think?" she tried again.

"No."

"Aw, does someone not like him?"

"No."

"I bet that'll change in a little while. He's really easy to get along with."

"He's annoying."

"Yeah, but it's that cute kind of annoying. Don't you just wanna, like, hug him and keep him happy?"

Sasuke glared up at the woman he was talking to. She was already starting to get on his nerves with her incessant babble about Naruto. Sasuke decided to ignore her.

After a couple more minutes, they reached the front desk. Rikka stopped the one-sided conversation to tell the employee her order. As she stepped over to the other counter to pick up her ice cream, she gave Sasuke a knowing look. Before going back to her friends with the three cones in her hands, she sauntered over to Sasuke and clearly spoke, "He'll grow on you soon enough."

A frown marred Sasuke's face as he finished ordering and paying. He growled softly while walking to the pick up area.

"Che, I doubt it."

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Morning flashed around the humble home as rays of light bounced off the walls. Yawning, Naruto raised his head to note the time. It was well over an hour before he had to get ready for school, but he forced himself out from under the covers anyway. Naruto realized that he couldn't get more than a few hours of sleep as of late. This nagging feeling kept him from doing that. Deciding not to dwell on it any longer, he scuffled towards the bathroom to get ready.

It had been two days since he last went to school. Iruka had made him stay home one more day for some odd reason. Though, Naruto couldn't complain, he felt grateful for the mini vacation. To put it bluntly, he felt like shit. The deaths of Tsunade and Shizune were weighing him down more each day.

_'I have to stay cheerful. They wouldn't have wanted me to mope around,' _Naruto reassured himself. _'I can't worry anyone.' _Determined to make his decision pull through, Naruto stepped into the shower and turned the water on.

Tsunade and Shizune had been part of the very few that accepted him. They cared for him like their own flesh and blood. Finding out that they died was hard to accept, but Naruto did nevertheless. However, he still held onto the ounce of hope that believed they were alive and well, no matter how farfetched it was.

Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts. He ducked his head under the spray of warm water and shut his eyes. _'Rest in peace...'_

After washing up and brushing his teeth, Naruto got dressed and skipped to the kitchen to find everyone already awake. Breakfast was being prepared by Iruka while Rikka and Akina set the table and conversed animatedly.

"Mornin'!" Naruto shouted to the three as he took a seat.

"Good morning!" they all replied simultaneously.

"You're up early again, Naruto-kun. Looks like we don't have to haul your butt out of bed anymore," Akina said.

"Hey, I get up on time," Naruto defended, "I just..."

"You just fall back asleep, right?" Rikka finished.

Naruto puffed out his cheeks and looked to the side. '_Not my fault. It's stupid to make kids wake up before noon __for school.'_

"Well, whatever! Go, go, eat, eat! I have a feeling that today's gonna be great!" Akina cheered from across the table.

Naruto laughed and threw a fist in the air. "Yeah!"

Iruka strolled in with a plate full of pancakes and set them down in front of the other three. He let out a breath and smiled. "Dig in, everyone!"

The atmosphere was comfortable as the group ate their breakfast. Laughs, jokes, and teasing remarks went all around the table. Before they knew it, the time for Naruto to go to school and Iruka to go to work had come.

"C'mon, Naruto-kun, we'll drive you," Rikka offered. Akina nodded happily by her side. Pushing Naruto out onto the porch, Akina waved back to Iruka as Rikka shut the door.

Rikka drove up to the front of the school and turned around in her seat to say bye. Before she got to, Akina kicked open the car door and shoved Naruto outside.

"Go get 'em, tiger!" she encouraged loudly, causing a few heads to turn her way. Akina grinned, gave Naruto a thumbs up, and told Rikka to step on it. The side of the vehicle rattled from the force Akina used to slam it closed. Naruto hung his head low as the car sped away. He was pretty sure the scene that just unfolded was a tell-tale sign that he came from a house of maniacs.

Naruto decided to run to his classroom today.

He sucked in a breath and opened the door. Stepping inside, he ambled over to the first row of desks. Looking around, he spotted Kiba waving to him.

"Blondie!" Kiba shouted and sprinted over to the boy. Noticing the slight weariness in the other boy's eyes, Kiba decided to not bring up the night at the restaurant. "Looks like we have this class together! I haven't seen you around lately, and let me tell you, it was getting pretty dull. I had no one to bully, what with you gone and all."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Gee, I feel special, and it was only two days."

"Two days is a long time, man!"

"Yeah, whatever."

"So you get in trouble, or something?"

"What? No! I had, uh, a doctor and dentist appointment."

Kiba raised an eyebrow and looked at him skeptically. "In a row? And they took up the whole day?"

"Yeah in a row, and I didn't want to go to school only to have to leave early or in the middle of class, so I skipped the whole day." Naruto inwardly cursed. The excuse and explanation sounded lame even to his own ears.

"Uh huh. Really now?"

"Yes, really, you mutt!"

"Stop calling me that!"

Naruto laughed as Kiba trapped him in a headlock. Suddenly, the door opened and in came Sasuke with his usual impassive face. Naruto elbowed Kiba in the stomach to let him go and scrambled over to Sasuke.

"Hey, bastard, didn't know you had this class!" Naruto greeted him.

Sasuke focused his gaze onto the blonde and scowled. Brushing past Naruto, he went to take his seat. Naruto blinked and turned around to ask, "What's wrong with him?" Kiba shrugged and went back to attempting to choke Naruto.

Class soon started up and everyone was busy doing classwork. The period went by quickly in silence. After a while, the bell rang, dismissing everyone from their first period class. Naruto grabbed his backpack and playfully punched Kiba on the shoulder to get his attention. Whining about his new injury, Kiba's anger shot up.

"What was that for?!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "What's your next period?"

Grumbling, Kiba briefly looked at his schedule before answering. "Basketball."

"You play that?"

"Yeah, ain't it obvious? I gotta go, Coach is going to be pissed if I come in late again."

"Alright, man, see ya."

"Later."

Checking his schedule one more time, Naruto went to find his next classroom. Upon entering, the first thing he saw was a spiky head. Recognizing it as Sasuke, he stomped up to said person.

Ignoring all the girls that ogled Sasuke from their seats, Naruto growled, "You bastard!"

Sasuke lifted his eyes up from his book, staring uninterestedly at Naruto.

Silence permeated through the air as Naruto waited for a response. When there was none, Naruto shook his fist at Sasuke and repeated with more vigor, "You_ bastard!_"

Again, silence. Naruto thought he saw something in Sasuke's eyes, but it disappeared too quickly for him to be sure. Sasuke went back to reading his book while Naruto simmered in front of his desk. Cracking some knuckles, Naruto was prepared to beat some words out of the stoic jerk until he heard a voice.

"Naruto!"

Naruto turned his attention towards the front of the room when he heard his name being called out. His anger deflated as he spotted Sakura rushing towards him.

"Hey Sak–" Naruto started, but was interrupted by Sakura hugging him. Tensing a little from the sudden gesture, Naruto stood still as Sakura's arms wound tighter around him. He recovered and asked, "What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"

Students turned back to what they were doing before Sakura entered, seeing as the two needed some privacy. Sasuke ignored the situation in front of him and continued reading his novel. It seemed that Sakura hadn't made notice of his presence, and he wasn't going to do anything to provoke it. Something was off, but Sasuke decided it was nothing he would be associated with.

"I heard about what happened," Sakura whispered. Naruto waited for her to go on, but found out that Sakura had begun to cry. "I can't b-believe Tsunade-san is... she's..."

Naruto raised his arms to soothingly rub Sakura's back as she continued sobbing into his shoulder. He understood how Sakura felt. He let his mood turn a shade darker as he reflected on that particular night.

"I w-wonder what caused the f-fire," Sakura continued.

"Didn't they tell you? It was from an explosion, from a bomb," Naruto stated, confused. '_At least that's what Iruka __said...'_

"W-what? They never said a-anything about a b-bomb. What are you t-talking about, Narut-o?"

_'What? It wasn't from a bomb? But– I don't understand. Iruka told me it was an explosion. Explosions come from bombs, right? Explosions that big _only_ come from bombs, right?!'_ Naruto thought.

Sasuke grit his teeth as he realized that he had been reading the same sentence over and over again for the past two minutes. Glaring at the page, Sasuke gripped the hardcover harshly, and forced his eyes to move from each word to the next. However, nothing registered as his mind once again betrayed his wishes and eavesdropped on the quiet conversation being held in front of him.

"Sakura-chan... when did you hear about this?" Naruto asked as he pulled away to look at her.

"Today in the m-morning. It was o-on the news. Why do you-u ask?" Sakura responded between hiccups and tears.

Naruto inwardly frowned. That was strange. _'How did Iruka know before everyone else?'_

Why would the small group of reporters there wait to broadcast it? He was sure that they were going to film live at the site, but... what happened? Why did they stall the showing? Why were they covering up the bombing?

Naruto closed his eyes and let out a breath.

"No reason."

**

* * *

**

The bell rang for third period. Everyone quickly made their way to the cafeteria, hoping to get some food before the lines piled up. Sasuke casually strolled out of his classroom, seeming to be in no hurry at all. Instead of taking the usual route, he chose to go upstairs.

Two minutes past the dismissal and the halls were already empty. Content with the quiet atmosphere, Sasuke trudged straight into the library with minimal effort.

"My, my, what's the great Uchiha doing in the library? I thought he knew everything," a voice rang out.

Sasuke stood still as he recognized the person behind him. "What do you want, Hyuuga?"

Neji chuckled at the evident tone of annoyance. Nothing was said as Sasuke waited for an answer. Getting impatient, Sasuke was pondering the idea of whether or not to walk away.

While Sasuke was weighing his options, Neji spoke up. "You're losing it, Sasuke. You are definitely losing this game against fate."

_'The fuck's that supposed to mean?' _Sasuke thought, irritated with Neji for making him wait so long to hear some meaningless shit.

Sasuke turned around, prepared to lash out, but Neji had already left.

Glaring at the empty space, Sasuke made his way towards back of the library in search of a computer to use. He had some researching to do.

Sauntering down a hallway, Neji decided he should be getting lunch. He wondered what business Sasuke had back in the other room. He was sure Sasuke didn't need to check out a book, he had quite an impressive collection at his home. There weren't any research papers due anytime soon either. Neji's eyebrows knit together as he entered the noisy cafeteria. Finding his customary table in no time at all, he browsed the occupants sitting there before getting in line.

As Neji approached the table, he saw Naruto and Lee waving enthusiastically at him. Laughing softly, he took his place beside Lee and Tenten, a girl with brown hair tied up in two buns.

"So Neji, why are you so late?" Tenten inquired.

"I had some matters to take care of," Neji swiftly replied while taking a sip of his drink.

"Ooh, some girl hitting on ya again?" Kiba prodded, waggling his eyebrows.

"Oh, what a beautiful display of youth! Girls confessing their love to you, Neji! Their hearts burn with an intensity hotter than the sun!" Lee shouted with fire in his eyes.

Neji grunted and continued eating.

Minutes went by and the cafeteria had grown less rowdy. It was nearing the end of lunch as students began to throw away their trash and exit the room. Naruto and the others were still sitting at their table making small talk.

Suddenly, a looming presence enveloped everyone at the table. Naruto cast his eyes over the crowd, searching for the cause for the sudden drop in temperature. He spotted Sasuke not too far off from where he was and cracked a smile.

As Sasuke made his way closer, the uneasy feeling became stronger. Sasuke sat down at the closest empty spot available, placed an elbow on top of the table, and rested his head in his hand. He ignored the noise around him and stared at the wall.

Any teasing words Naruto was about to use clogged up inside his throat. He felt uncomfortable all of a sudden.

Leaning towards Kiba, Naruto whispered, "Hey, is this normal?"

Kiba studied Sasuke's disposition and replied, "Kind of. I mean, he's always pissed off, but something's off today. I'm sure they've all noticed it too." Kiba cocked his head to the others.

Naruto glanced at his peers and sure enough, almost each one were sending Sasuke concerned looks every now and then.

The table grew unusually quiet as everyone felt the unfriendly vibes being emitted. Naruto, not being able to stand the silence, popped a question. "So... What's everyone doing for winter break?"

When no one answered, Shikamaru mumbled something from his napping position. Raising his head from his arms, Shikamaru focused drowsy eyes onto Naruto.

"Troublesome," he drawled. "My family and I are spending a few days up in the mountains to check up on our herd of deer."

"Wow, you take care of deer? That's awesome," Naruto exclaimed. "But wait, it's winter... don't they do that hiber-whatever thing?"

Shikamaru yawned. "Hibernation. And no, they don't."

Kiba grinned and shook his head. "Geez, Naruto, go back to grade school."

"Shove it, Kiba! I bet you didn't know it either!"

Seeing the argument that was about to start, Shikamaru let out a sigh and continued on with sleeping.

The stress began to ebb away as Kiba and Naruto exchanged insults across the table. A fight between the two was something familiar. Laughter could be heard coming from both boys as they made more playful jabs at each other. Soon after, a few others joined in on the conversation.

Abruptly, Sasuke slammed his hands down on the table and stood, making everyone glance up at him in curiosity. With his hair covering his eyes, Sasuke stormed off.

Maneuvering into an empty space, Sasuke leaned against a wall and closed his eyes.

_'Why does the thought of him faking a smile annoy me so much? I barely know this guy, how can I even tell the difference?' _Sasuke thought furiously.

Sasuke took in a deep breath and tried to calm down. He attempted to block everything out, but flashes of Naruto's forced smile filled his head. Sasuke clenched and unclenched his hands. Frustration made his face twist into a scowl as he contemplated over the childish idea of yelling at the ceiling. The words from Rikka constantly fluttered around in his mind. Words he wanted to deny, to prove wrong.

_He'll grow on you soon enough._

**

* * *

**

**(1): I'm doing this based on my high school's system. We have eight classes that are split into two days, which means four classes per day. We have an A day, where you go to your first four classes (1-4), and a B day, where you go to your last four classes (5-8). They alternate, so, for example, if Monday was an A day, Tuesday would be a B day. Wednesday would be A, Thursday B, etc.**

**Normally, lunch would only take up 1/3 of a period, but in this, I'm making it count as a whole period. :D**

**This is Part One of Chapter 5. Yeah, it's really freakin' long.  
**

**Constructive criticism and comments are always welcome. Thank you for reading!**


	6. Child's Play: Part 2

**Chapter 5 Part 2! Enjoy! (Sorry for the long wait!) D:**

* * *

Hearing footsteps approaching, Sasuke composed himself. He remained leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest. Realizing that the steps ceased right in front of him, Sasuke opened an eye.

Kiba stood in front of Sasuke, staring him down with a serious face.

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke straightened up and coolly peered back.

"Look, I don't know what happened to make you act like an asshole that day, but you better get over it. I know we don't know him that well, but don't even try and bullshit me into thinking that you don't care about him. He needs people he can trust, people he can depend on– he needs us. Us as in his _friends_. I suggest you start acting like one before you really fuck up," Kiba snarled into Sasuke's face.

"Don't act like you know everything that goes on around you," Sasuke snapped, "You don't understand a thing, Inuzuka."

Sidestepping Kiba, Sasuke made his way to his last class for the day.

Kiba let out a growl of anger as he watched Sasuke's retreating back.

Students bustled about as the bell rang for passing period. Sasuke leisurely made it to his seat, silently seething. He was still ticked off with Naruto, and now Kiba as well. He added the world on the list while he was at it. Why the hell not.

With a frown, Sasuke propped up his chin and closed his eyes. The late bell rang while people scuttled to their designated spots. The teacher was late himself, so the students were mingling to pass the time.

Sasuke's ear twitched when he caught the sound of an awfully familiar laugh. He hated it. Hated it right down to his soul. He wished the guy who possessed the laugh would go off himself. Sadly, that wasn't happening anytime soon, so he settled with staring daggers at the wall. The laugh got louder as the person approached the door.

"Yeah! So she was like, 'Help me or your asses are getting kicked,' and you could see nearly everyone taking a big step back," Naruto told between snickers. "And guess what? We actually left her in there! Oh man, the next day when the janitor found her and let her go, she sure did beat the shit out of us." Naruto was narrating another funny story to Sakura as they walked into the classroom together. He waved his hands around animatedly while he spoke, trying to make the memory more compelling.

Sakura giggled good-naturedly as she continued to listen. Setting down her books on her desk, she scanned the room with a cheerful smile. Spotting Sasuke in his usual, secluded space, she excused herself from Naruto and strolled over. Nodding, Naruto took a seat and waited.

Sakura reached Sasuke's desk in a matter of seconds. She flipped her hair across one shoulder and clasped her hands together behind her back.

"Sasuke-kun, how about we get together after school? I have these tickets to a movie..." Sakura asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

Fighting an oncoming headache, Sasuke shut his eyes and flat out rejected her. "No."

"But I hear the movie's really good."

"No."

"I'll even buy the snacks!"

"No. Go away."

"But Sasuke-kun!" Sakura whined as she stretched out the last syllable.

Having had enough, Sasuke stared straight at Sakura and spoke in a deathly low hiss. "Can you not hear me? I said _no._"

"C'mon, it'll be really fun! Please come?" Sakura encouraged, not noticing the violent tone.

"Sakura."

Perking up from hearing her name, Sakura beamed at Sasuke, waiting for the answer she wanted.

Glaring coldly, Sasuke said, "Stop asking."

Sakura's face dropped and disappointment seeped into her eyes. Inwardly pouting, she gave Sasuke one last smile before walking away.

With worry etched across his face, Naruto approached Sasuke. He looked back at Sakura and felt his temper rise.

"Hey, don't be mean to her. She really likes you..." Naruto rebuked.

"Hn. I'd rather she not," Sasuke replied dismissively.

"Bastard! Go say you're sorry!"

"What for?"

"For acting like a cold-hearted bastard towards Sakura-chan!"

"She does this every fucking day. Why bother apologizing when she'll eventually be back with that same annoying persistence of hers?"

"What?! Don't say that about her!"

"Hn."

Anger boiling, Naruto grit his teeth and clenched his hands so hard his knuckles turned white. Exhaling slowly, Naruto evenly commanded, "Take. It. Back."

Naruto bristled when he got nothing. Not a word, sound, or movement. Naruto's patience died five seconds later when he noticed Sasuke had plucked out a book to read. Raising a fist, Naruto pulled it back and socked Sasuke right on the cheek.

Almost falling off his chair from the force of the hit, Sasuke shook his head to clear his mind. Shutting his book closed and throwing it onto a nearby desk, Sasuke scowled at Naruto. Without waiting another second, he stood and roughly kicked Naruto in the stomach. Thus, a fight began.

* * *

"This is all your fault," Naruto growled.

"You threw the first punch," Sasuke clipped.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have if you weren't being such a jerk!"

"Hn."

"I'm wasting my time in detention when I could be doing something better! To make it worse, I'm stuck here with you of all people. You!"

Sasuke chose to ignore Naruto's outbursts as he gazed outside a window. Noticing this, Naruto slumped over his desk and placed his head in his arms. He let out an agitated sigh.

Some shuffling from Sasuke's side of the room ensued when Naruto's eyes were starting to droop from boredom. Letting out a yawn, he almost dozed off until something thumped against the side of his head and clattered onto the desk.

Shooting up from his slouched position, Naruto shouted, "What was that for?!" When he didn't get an answer, he rubbed the side of his head to ease the pain and fumed in his seat. He had thoughts about stomping over to the other boy and punching his lights out, but an object on the desk stopped him from doing so.

Picking it up, Naruto realized that it was his phone. Blinking, he set it back down and turned his eyes towards Sasuke.

"You left it at the restaurant," was Sasuke's curt reply.

Not knowing what to make of the situation, Naruto nodded dumbly. "Uh, thanks."

After seeing Naruto's reaction, Sasuke turned back to the window. "Dobe."

"Asshole!" Naruto retorted while feeling his cheeks burn.

Sasuke spared Naruto a glance and noticed his embarrassment. Naruto looked up at Sasuke when he heard a scoff and watched as Sasuke turned around to most likely say an insult.

When nothing came out, Naruto cocked his head to the side in question. Sasuke continued to stare at Naruto impassively, making him squirm.

"What?" Naruto demanded, disturbed with the situation. He wasn't surprised when he didn't get a reply. After what seemed like hours to Naruto, Sasuke twisted his body back to the window, dismissing the blonde.

Silence seeped through the walls and settled inside the classroom. Naruto watched Sasuke in confusion a little longer before huffing and crossing his arms. He glared at the front of the room while sliding lower in his seat.

After his anger died down, Naruto's thoughts shifted back to the hospital scene. He still had a lot of questions unanswered. A sullen expression took over as he thought about Tsunade and Shizune. It all happened so quickly. He could still remember talking to Shizune and being angry with Tsunade just the day before their deaths. Naruto shut his eyes, reminiscing.

"I heard there was going to be a memorial service," Sasuke said offhandedly. Startled, Naruto opened his eyes and sat up. Sasuke was never the one to start a conversation, and Naruto didn't have to guess twice to know what he was referring to.

Sporting a grin, Naruto looked over to Sasuke. "Ah, you heard? Yeah, it's supposed to start at the end of this week." Sasuke turned and faced Naruto as the blonde went on. "It'll probably be a couple of days long. Are you going?"

Sasuke grunted.

"...I'll take that as a yes. So, anyway, I bet we're going to," Naruto paused and let out a nervous laugh, "s-say some last words to everyone that died, and boring stuff like that. It's going to be really–"

"Naruto."

Naruto blinked at Sasuke who had a glare fixed on him. "What?"

"Don't try and pull that stunt with me, I see right through it."

Baffled, Naruto questioned, "What are you talking about?"

Sasuke blew up. "Don't fuck with me! I know you're not really as happy as you're trying to look!" He didn't understand why he was getting so angry. Seeing Naruto trying to bottle up his emotions, to put up a façade, ticked him off. Why did it annoy him so much, it was practically the same thing he was doing. Naruto hid behind his smiles while he hid behind his emotionless demeanor.

Naruto watched Sasuke in disbelief. He would have never guessed that Sasuke would be able to tell the difference in his attitude. Thoughts of Iruka, Rikka, and Akina whirled around his head. They had all noticed. Knowing that Sasuke realized it too made him feel... relieved. Naruto, confused with his reaction, pushed aside the feeling.

"Stop being an idiot and doing things you don't want to do," Sasuke rebuked.

"What if I do want to do this? My problems are not anyone's burden to bear!" Naruto retorted hotly.

"It's better than lying about your happiness!"

"What do you know! Maybe this way works fine! Why do you care anyway?"

"Usuratonkachi! I swear–"

Their argument was interrupted by the sudden ringing of a phone. Puzzled, Naruto checked his desk and looked at his phone. The screen on the cover flashed as the words 'Unknown Number' appeared in bold letters.

Naruto let it rest in his hand as he listened to the repetitive ringing. Sasuke, still bitter from the conversation, found the incessant noise to be incredibly aggravating.

"Just answer the damn phone," Sasuke commanded.

Sending a glower in the other boy's direction, Naruto flipped open the device and muttered, "Hello?"

Static met him before a smooth voice took over. "Why, hello, Naruto-kun."

"Who is this?"

"I have something better to tell you than my name."

Naruto was starting to not like the guy on the other line. His voice was cold and defined. It practically dripped of superiority. He had no idea who the person on the other side of the call was, and he was getting edgy.

"Like hell you do, psycho! How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"Tsk, tsk, as rude and impatient as ever. Don't you want to hear my good news?"

"I don't want to hear anything from you. In fact, I'm going to hang up in the next ten seconds," Naruto exclaimed in finality. It would've been better to hang up right away, but he couldn't let go of that curiosity and hope for the so called "good news". He wanted to end the conversation, but at the same time hear what the man had to say.

The stranger chuckled lightly at Naruto's words. "Not the talker today, huh?"

"Ten."

"And here I thought–"

"Nine."

"–that you would actually–"

"Eight."

"–be excited to–"

"Seven."

"–hear my good news."

"Six."

"Ah, I better wrap–"

"Five."

"–it up. It's been nice–"

"Four."

"–talking to you again–"

"Three."

"–Naruto-kun. The good news–"

"Two."

"–is that I know where–"

"One."

"–Tsunade and Shizune are."

Naruto's fingers froze right before he snapped his phone shut. His heart beat raced as he put the phone back to his ear. Sasuke studied Naruto suspiciously as the blonde's eyes widened.

"W-what did you just say?"

"Oh? What's this? You haven't hung up already?"

"Shut up, you prick! They're alive? Where are they?!"

"Now, now, Naruto-kun, let's not get angry. The directions are in your locker. Have fun."

With that, the line went dead. The dial tone was heard afterward, and Naruto listened to the hum for a couple of seconds before finally hanging up. Sasuke leaned back in his chair and nonchalantly studied Naruto's jumbled state, the tension from their previous fight having already dissipated. The blonde's breath was still coming in gasps as he thought something over.

_'Should I trust this guy or not? He's the only clue that I have to finding out if they're actually alive. What if this is just a trick? If it is then what would they want with me?' _Naruto contemplated. _'Shit, how would I even get there? I don't have a car...'_

Making up his mind, Naruto's eyes refocused onto Sasuke to see him staring back. Faltering slightly under the gaze, Naruto choked out, "Can I use your car?"

"What?"

"Your car, can I use it?"

"Absolutely not."

"But I really need it."

"And why is that?"

"It's just... the call..."

"Don't tell me, someone you don't know told you to go somewhere?"

Naruto nodded stiffly.

"I knew you were stupid, but to be _this_ much of a moron?"

"Bastard! I have my reasons! There's something I have to make sure of."

"Che. It'll be dangerous."

"Doesn't matter. I need to know something."

"Know what?"

"That Baa-chan and Shizu–" Naruto cut himself off as he turned his face to the side.

Sasuke had a reflective look cross his features for a second. He viewed Naruto's body language from across the room and sighed. "We're still in detention, you know."

"I don't know about you, but I think this definitely beats detention."

"Hn."

Sasuke stood up and looked expectantly as Naruto. Grunting again, he started walking over to the exit. He could feel Naruto's eyes trained on him as he stopped to swing open the door. "What, you don't want to go anymore, dobe?"

"W-wait. You're coming?"

"Who else would save your ass?"

"Cocky bastard. I can take care of myself."

Sasuke smirked, calling over his shoulder as he stepped out, "We'll see."

Naruto smiled and followed Sasuke into the hallway. After he dashed off to his locker to grab the note that held the directions, they headed for the car. Once inside, both boys were quiet and anxious. The air was thick as Naruto stuck the keys in the ignition and twisted. Naruto had somehow convinced Sasuke to let him drive. They'd get there faster was Naruto's argument. The engine roared to life and Naruto pulled out of the parking lot.

* * *

A groan was heard inside the little, brightly lit room as a woman tried to regain consciousness. Holding her head to try and stop the room from spinning, her eyes blinked numerous times before focusing on a wall. Sitting up and rubbing her temple, she looked around the compact room.

There were no windows and only one door. The door was metal and able to cast reflections of the interior. It, too, had no window, or even a doorknob. She didn't need to check to know that it was locked from the outside. The walls were a sickly pale white, as well as the ceiling. Plain tiles lined the floor and fluorescent lighting reigned from above. High in the corner, however, was a security camera, a small speaker, and an equally miniature vent.

The woman sighed, it wasn't like she wasn't used to the unnerving white or the lighting, she had been surrounded by them all her life. What made her uncomfortable was that she was trapped, and had no idea where she currently was. She continued to observe the room and found nothing in it, but her other companion. Quickly rushing towards her friend, she checked for any injuries or abnormalities and found none except for a couple of minor cuts. She noted that she was sporting some herself.

She bit her thumbnail as she tried to backtrack and think of a reason as to why she and her friend were locked in, but nothing came up. She remembered panicking at the hospital, but her mind went blank after that. Swearing under her breath, she went to wake up her friend.

"Shizune, wake up," the lady instructed while shaking her friend. Bleary eyes opened and squinted at the light.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune mumbled, "Where are we? What happened?"

"I don't know, Shizune, I'm still trying to figure that stuff out myself."

Shizune sat up and examined the cramped space. "Have you tried to get out?"

"Well, shit, Shizune, what do you propose on trying first? Maybe we can squeeze through that tiny vent, or use our imaginary handles and keys to open the door."

"Ah... well... Do you remember anything after the explosion at the hospital?"

"Nothing, you?"

"Same. It was a good thing I left Ton-Ton at home..."

"You spoil that pig too much."

The two sat in silence, thinking of a plan. A sharp, clicking sound echoed off the walls as both women turned to stare at the speaker.

"Oh good, you're awake," a low voice murmured from the device.

Tsunade and Shizune kept quiet as their ears perked up to listen to what the man had to say. Who knows what their captor was planning to do to them. Static reverberated throughout the room as minutes came and went.

Shizune vaguely wondered if this was the same man from the call at the hospital. She decided against it because the voice over the call wasn't as lively as the one now.

"Are you talking or not, 'cause I'd like to know where the fuck I am," Tsunade roared impatiently.

A scratchy chuckle was heard. "Amusing. You speak to your savior like this."

Tsunade snorted while Shizune looked warily at the door, wondering if someone was going to barge in. Her eyes were frantic as they darted from corner to corner, side to side, wall to wall.

Startled, Tsunade asked, "Savior? The hell you talking about? Aren't you going to kill us?"

"I rescued you guys from dying back there, so be grateful," the man replied. "As for the killing... it comes later."

"Why not now?"

"I can have you two disposed of in the next couple of seconds if that's what you want."

"No thanks. I'm perfectly fine with living."

"Suit yourself. It would've been fun to see the fear in your eyes as you screamed for mercy."

Tsunade made a face of disgust and spat, "You're sick." This man was truly a cruel bastard. It made her stomach wrench painfully to know that the person she was having a conversation with took joy in murdering others. She felt a prickling sense of horror creep into her body, knowing that she was going to die in the hands of this man.

"You flatter me," the man said, "and don't worry, ladies, as I said, I have no intentions on finishing you off yet."

Shizune let out a slow breath. Leaning up against a wall, she stared at the ceiling. "Tsunade-sama," she whispered, "it would be best if you wrapped up this conversation."

"It's a shame, though. I would've loved to slice your bodies open, but my partner insists on keeping you alive. He wouldn't be too happy if I killed you two now. A real mystery, that guy," the man continued.

Brushing aside Shizune's advice, Tsunade continued shouting up at the speaker. "And who's your partner?"

Silence met her. She growled, her anger spiking. "Answer me!"

The man snorted. "I'm not obliged to answer every question you ask. You seem to have forgotten that I'm the one in charge here."

"Who. Is. Your. Partner," Tsunade repeated with more force. "Better yet, who are _you_?"

"My, my, someone's being abrasive. Cool that temper of yours, or I just might have to break a bone or two."

"Tsunade-sama–"

"Tch, you're bluffing."

"My partner held no restrictions in toying with you, only that I couldn't end your lives."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Ha! You're a bold one, aren't you?" There was a pause in which Tsunade cracked her knuckles and glared up at the speaker. The man snickered at her actions and pondered over her words. "Hmm, as tempting as that challenge is, I'm saddened to find out that we'll have to save it for another time. It's been fun, but it's time for you ladies to go back to sleep."

"Wha–"

A hissing sound cut Tsunade off as a murky colored gas came from the small vent. It spread around the room in a matter of seconds, making it difficult to avoid. Tsunade and Shizune were forced to breathe it in as their lungs begged for air.

The gas stung their eyes and nose as they slowly became weaker. They both shut their eyes despite their struggles to keep them open. Sleep came quickly as they collapsed onto the floor.

* * *

"Okay, now where do I go?"

"Make a left into Reever."

"You sure? We're getting pretty far away from the populated part of the city."

"Hn."

"Ah, whatever. Found Reever, now where to?"

"Left into Quiet Moon."

"Next?"

"... Left into Gerrison."

"Uh-huh."

"... Left into Anderson."

"Alri– wait, what the hell?! Did we just go in a square?! Sasuke, give me the fucking directions!"

"Keep your eyes on the road, dumbass!"

After some struggling, Naruto successfully snatched the piece of paper from Sasuke's hand and scanned through the words.

"... God, this guy's an ass!" Naruto declared after rereading it for the fifth time. "And you! I thought you were smart! Why didn't you see this coming?!"

Grabbing the sheet, Sasuke shoved Naruto's head so that it faced the front. "Concentrate on driving." He had finally gotten used to Naruto's crazy personal speed limits. He didn't need an accident thrown into the pile.

"There better not be anymore left turns," Naruto grumbled irritably.

Minutes ticked by as the scenery changed from new, populated buildings to run-down, deserted ones. Getting more anxious with each passing mile, Naruto constantly searched the blurry streets for inhabitants. The drive had taken a fairly long stretch of time, seeing as it was currently twilight.

The temperature seemed to drop below zero in an instant. Naruto reached forward to turn the heat on a higher setting while still on the look out for a sign of life.

Oddly, the stoplights and street lamps still functioned normally, untouched by the eerie emptiness the place held. Too busy wondering about the area, Naruto didn't notice Sasuke stiffen up and his voice turn mechanical. By the time he did notice the strange tone, he surmised it to be nerves, and didn't bother to turn away from the lane to confirm it.

Sasuke's mind was reeling with unkempt thoughts. He knew the directions seemed familiar, that the street names were something he'd heard before. Even though he hadn't visited this section of the city in years, he could still remember bits from the days he did. What he couldn't recall was the reason why the spot became entirely vacant.

"Sasuke, what's wrong? Is someone a scaredy cat?" Naruto chuckled and waited for an insult to come, but caught nothing. Peeking out of the corner of his eye, Naruto took in Sasuke's posture. He was frozen solid, deeply so that it looked like he wasn't even breathing. His hard eyes were trained on the outside surroundings, and his right hand was gripping the side of the door with such force it was surprising that it didn't crack under the pressure.

Perplexed, Naruto looked back to the road and pressed harder on the gas pedal. He didn't need to be thinking about Sasuke's weird mood swings at a time like this. He had to get to Tsunade and Shizune as soon as possible. Worrying about the other boy would cause more trouble and slow him down. Even so...

Naruto tightened his mouth into a thin line and stared only at the things in front of him. Though determined to not let Sasuke bother him, Naruto's eyes would betray him once in a while by glancing back at Sasuke's still form. Unconsciously, Naruto started drumming his fingers on the steering wheel and began fidgeting in his seat. When he realized his excessive movements, he frowned. Whacking a hand against the dashboard as punishment, he grimaced from the pain and curled it back around the handle of the wheel.

Sasuke, alarmed by the sudden thudding sound that reached his ears, turned his head to Naruto. Watching as Naruto retracted his hand and made a contorted face, Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

He was about to let out a chuckle when he halted his actions completely. It was strange. He didn't even realize when he had stopped being uneasy. Why did he feel so relieved from sitting next to Naruto? As Sasuke continued to calm down, he briskly inspected Naruto to see that the other was still restless. Putting two and two together, Sasuke sighed at the trouble of it all. He might as well get it over with.

"My father's corporation used to be near here." Sasuke reveled at how effortlessly the words came out of his mouth.

Naruto nearly choked on his spit. His jaw went slack and he looked at Sasuke out of the corner of his eyes. Sasuke was staring outside the window, his head propped up by his hand. Naruto noticed that Sasuke was no longer tense, that he was more relaxed, comfortable even. In turn, Naruto was the one to turn rigid this time. Trying to calm down, he glanced back to the road and silently encouraged Sasuke to go on.

"It was... back when my parents were still alive. I was seldom brought to visit the place, it was far from our original home. Some years later, we moved to a new building. Unnecessary if you ask me," Sasuke put his two cents worth, beginning to glare daggers at anything and everything.

Naruto, grasping the sudden change in attitude, hesitantly reassured, "Whoa, whoa, hey, it's okay if it's difficult to talk about. I don't need to–"

"Because they died shortly after."

Opening and closing his mouth, Naruto gaped at Sasuke. Realizing what he was doing, Naruto whipped his head back to the front. Trying to think of what to say, Naruto idly tapped the side of the steering wheel with his index finger.

Concentrating too hard on both keeping up his mad driving skills, i.e. driving extremely fast, and coming up with a good ice breaker, Naruto didn't notice the weather take a stride towards uncanny.

Sasuke blinked. _'Fog? Out of nowhere?'_

Turning, Sasuke studied Naruto's expression for a sign of recognition. It was obvious that he was on another planet at the moment. Sighing, Sasuke laid back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Man, where'd all this fog come from?" Naruto asked aloud, finally having realized. He leaned closer to the windshield and squinted his eyes.

"Idiot, that won't do anything," Sasuke muttered.

"Shut up! I'm the driving expert here!"

"The only thing you're an expert at is being incredibly stupid."

"Oh yeah? Well, you're an asshole. There, what now?"

"That's clever."

"Sh-shut up! Why do you always have to be like this? Why can't you sit back and lick a fucking lollipop, or something?"

"Tch." Sasuke turned away from Naruto.

"Hey! Hey! Don't show your back to me! I didn't say we were finished yet!" Naruto reached over and grabbed Sasuke's shoulder. Tugging on it, he was fully engrossed in making Sasuke answer him that he paid attention to nothing else, not even the road.

Sasuke, however, was.

"Naruto! Red light!"

"Huh?"

"Watch out!"

Naruto's eyes widened as they followed a flaming car speeding towards them. Frozen with fear, he waited for the inevitable.

Right before the impact, Sasuke caught a glimpse of the passenger in the other vehicle.

The boys lurched forward as they squeezed their eyelids shut. The pain sky-rocketed when the sound of windows breaking reached their ears. A dull buzz filled their minds. Their bodies jerked violently in different directions as flying projectiles imbedded themselves into their skin. Sickening crunches could be heard coming from both boys. The car lurched a little from the impact and thumped down to a rest.

Wincing, Sasuke slowly lifted his eyelids and tried to stop his view from spinning. Letting out a wheeze, Sasuke glanced at Naruto. He was knocked out with his body slumped over the wheel and one arm hanging out of the broken window.

_'Great day for my car to turn retarded and have the airbags _not_ working.'_

Making note of the hungry fire on the other car, Sasuke decided he should move the both of them before it spread. Pulling the handle of the side door, Sasuke realized it was jammed. Looking over to Naruto's side, the other door seemed even less appealing for it was blocked off by the fire. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke rammed himself against his door with the strength he still had, clutching the handle open while doing so.

The door popped out, causing Sasuke to topple over and have his shoulder collide with the asphalt. Cursing everything to hell, Sasuke resisted the urge to yell outright because his throat and lungs burned. Ignoring the pain as best he could, Sasuke slowly pulled the rest of him out the car and sat on the ground. Panting, he reached inside the car with only one arm, seeing how his other was broken and useless, and grabbed Naruto by his. Sasuke swallowed dryly as his parched throat made him cough. The cold air wasn't helping much either. Yanking back, Sasuke sluggishly pulled Naruto outside.

Blood was getting into Sasuke's eyes from a cut on his head. Vexed, he wiped a sleeve over his face, smearing everything across it. Sasuke's legs felt numb, but he urged himself to stand. Trembling slightly from the effort, he hooked his arm around Naruto's torso and dragged him over to the side of the road. Collapsing on the chilly grass, Sasuke caught his breath before trying to sit up again.

Searching his pockets, Sasuke found what he needed and took it out.

Hastily flipping open his mobile, Sasuke's fingers dialed for help, thankful for still having a signal. He willed his teeth to not chatter as he gave out the location and problem through painful coughs. Hanging up, Sasuke looked at Naruto. Noticing the blood stain that was rapidly spreading throughout the blonde's clothes, he crawled over and started checking out Naruto's condition.

_'There's so much blood.'_ Sasuke swore as he applied more pressure on the wounds. Naruto's breathing grew ragged and shaky while Sasuke worked on wrapping the injuries. The air wasn't helping as it made his movements stiff and delayed.

Sasuke let out an aggravated sigh as he worked on tearing off a strip of cloth to act as gauze. _'They made it look so damn simple in the movies,'_ Sasuke bit out.

After the blood relatively stopped flowing out in buckets, Sasuke sat quietly on the ground by Naruto's lying form. Deciding that Naruto needed it more than he did, Sasuke took off his jacket and laid it over the other boy. He maneuvered the two so that they were both sitting up and Naruto's back was resting against Sasuke's chest. Hesitantly, Sasuke put his functional arm awkwardly over Naruto, careful not to give him more discomfort.

_'I wonder if my body heat will be enough,'_ Sasuke mused. He was new to this, he never had to deal with it before. He had no clue what to do and only hoped that the ambulances would come soon. Common sense and instinct were the only things he could rely on this time.

Naruto's eyes were barely open, but he could still register that he had been given a coat. Then he felt a source of heat on his back, relaxing against it, he tried to absorb as much warmth as he could. It wasn't much, but it was better than staying cold. A light weight laid itself on him, but Naruto didn't make note of it. He was concentrating on breathing and getting warmer.

They stayed like that for a while, listening to the crackles of the fire. Sasuke found his gaze always going back towards the direction of the burning cars. The fire had already sweeped over both automobiles. They groaned and hissed as smoke mixed with the fog. He couldn't make it out because of where he was sitting, but he had a feeling that the crash dummy that was inside the other car was still there, if not already made into ashes.

Why would a crash dummy be inside a moving car? Was someone controlling the vehicle from a different location? Was the location not too far off? Was the person studying their every movement this very second? How did the person know Naruto would run the stoplight? Sasuke's mind provided question after question as to how the crash was set up, planned, and carried out. It didn't take a genius to figure out that whoever was behind the act was the person that Naruto spoke on the phone with.

_'The idiot. I knew it was going to be a trick to try and get him killed.'_ Sasuke was getting petulant. He decided to pick out all the wrongs he did during the day to pass the time, his mood darkening with each one he encountered.

Closing his eyes and fought back a shiver as a result from the biting cold, Sasuke tried to relax his state of mind. He figured that getting agitated was not going to fix any problems. He needed to stay calm, to be the person who knew what to do next. Conserved, stoic, in control.

With his thoughts at ease, Sasuke regarded the person resting against him. Naruto's eyes were glassy as his breathing tried to find a constant rhythm. His hair was coated in blood as well as parts of his face where cuts were located.

A rusty scent mingled with the breeze.

Naruto was exhausted. He couldn't even turn his head into a more comfortable position for his neck. His fingers felt disconnected as well as the rest of his limbs. The coat over his chest wasn't doing much, but at least it trapped some of the warmth he had left in his body. Everything was in pain and he didn't know how much longer he could last. He wanted the throbbing to stop, the aching to cease. His eyes began to droop and he was too weak to stop them.

_'I'll rest my eyes a bit,'_ Naruto thought as if Sasuke could hear him, '_Don't worry, Sasuke, I'm just taking a break.'_

Sasuke's eyes widened as he noticed Naruto's fluttering closed. His bloody hands trembled from the cold as he grabbed Naruto's shoulders, his broken arm protesting wildly. "N-no," his voice rasped out, "Dobe, d-don't you dare close your eyes on m-me! You need t-to stay awake!" Sasuke twisted Naruto's body a little to the side as he searched his face. Sasuke's energy was draining fast, but he had to try and do something. Naruto needed to stay awake.

Naruto vaguely heard Sasuke's voice in his mind. He couldn't register any of the words being spoken to him. They all sounded so soft, like a whisper. He didn't even noticed the harsh grip on his shoulders. His skin was far too numb from the bitter air to feel anything. He was sleepy and so very, very tired.

Sasuke's ears heard the faint sounds of ringing as he continued to yell at Naruto. Fatigue was getting the best of him, he no longer had the strength to do much of anything. The sirens grew louder as Sasuke eyes repeatedly went from blurred to focused. Multiple cars appeared on the once empty street and surrounded the crash site. As people started rushing toward the two freezing boys with stretchers and other machines in hand, Sasuke's weary mind went blank.

The loud noises mixed inside Naruto's head. His concentration was already fuzzy, so they all became muffled and strange. He managed a small smile, letting them invade his aching head.

_'Why does this feel familiar...?'_

Naruto drifted off as the sounds drowned out his musings. The tune continued to float around his mind as consciousness slipped away from him.

* * *

**As you can see, Tsunade and Shizune aren't dead yet. Yay!**

**Constructive criticism and comments are always welcome. Thank you for reading!**


	7. Recover

Thank you to those who reviewed/read! :D

I've decided to make the AN short today, so that you can get on to reading!

I've found that "blond" was for guys and "blonde" was for girls. Aww, have I been calling guys girls all this time? Dumb me. I'll go back and change the others when I can. Enjoy the chapter!

**Warnings:** Same, same.

**Disclaimer:** Cell's nice and padded. Loving the straightjacket. Diet consists of pills and water now. I'm unusually calm... Calm enough to even say, "I don't own Naruto," to the voice recorder they shoved in front of my face and think nothing of it.

**..bop bop bop bip bip bip..**

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

_'Ugh, what's that sound?'_

Beep.

_'Where's it coming from?'_

Beep.

_'Where am I?'_

Beep.

_'…'_

Beep.

_'–!'_

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Doctor, the patient's heart rate is increasing rapidly. His breathing is going erratic as well."

"He's most likely experiencing a case of sinus tachycardia due to anxiety and fear. He had a rough night before he fell unconscious." **(1)**

"Instructions, sir?"

"Wait it out, everything will go back to normal with time. He's a strong boy."

"Understood."

A different, shrill noise filled the room. When it ceased, murmurs were exchanged before the sound of a door handle being twisted was made.

Clacks growing fainter was all Sasuke heard after the door closed, aside from the constant beeps and sounds from other machines in the room.

Feeling dizzy, Sasuke fought through his hazy mind to get a grasp on what was happening. With the scenes from last night raging inside his mind, Sasuke tried to open his eyes. It felt like two ton bricks were sitting on top of them. After some internal struggling, he managed to crack it open just a sliver. He was met with white.

Scanning the area as best he could, his guess that he was in a hospital was confirmed. The place looked like a typical patient room. White and pastel colors were most of what it consisted of. Excluding the tubes and machines hooked up to him, Sasuke found nothing out of that color range.

The curtains were closed, though peeks of sunlight still reached inside and cast patterns on the sheets. Letting his eyelids slip shut, Sasuke attempted to get rid of the waves of nausea he was feeling. His eyebrows knit together and a frown appeared on his face when he heard loud noises coming from outside. Muffled voices behind the door made their way to his ears.

"So what if I'm not a family member, I'm his fucking secretary! Back off!"

"But miss, he needs rest!"

"To hell with rest! What he _needs_ is to attend to important business, and if you try to stop me, don't think I won't get violent. It's been three days, _three_ _damn long days_, since the accident, and he's seriously slacking behind!"

"Ah, wai–"

The door was abruptly shoved open and slammed into the wall. A woman with blonde hair pulled up in four pigtails strolled in casually, as if she didn't just use brute force to get in.

Sasuke sighed and turned his head to scowl at his secretary, who had stopped beside his bed. The woman rolled her eyes and said, "Please, Sasuke, don't give me that look. Did you think something as petty as you being injured in a car crash would stop me from making you work?"

"Hn. You know barging in here without permission will cause trouble, right, Temari?"

"Like I give a damn about the details. I came here because I need you to do your job. I don't care if you're lacking in sleep, coughing up blood, dying, or whatever the hell else. You _will_ finish this paperwork."

Sasuke became annoyed as he heard stomping. He shifted into a more comfortable position and tried to will away his awful headache.

The steps became louder and two security guards burst in along with the nurse from before.

"Ma'am, you are a disturbance to this hospital and we were asked to escort you outside," an officer said as he reached for Temari's arm.

"Don't touch me unless you want your bones broken," Temari threatened.

The officer huffed and gave a nasty look, but retracted his hand anyway. The other motioned for her to go through the doorway first, but Temari refused to move.

Sasuke's eyes turned icy as he warned, "Temari."

Taking one look at her boss and another at the suitcase she was carrying, she growled and relented. Placing the suitcase on the table beside Sasuke's bed, she softly informed, "The files that need to be done are in there. Get well soon, sir. Everyone's waiting back at the office."

Sasuke grunted and shut his eyes. Temari let out a small laugh and walked out the door with the other three in tow.

**..bop bop bop bip bip bip..**

"Naruto... what happened to you?"

"Oh, come now, Sakura, the doctor said he's getting along fine. He'll... he'll be up and kicking before we know it."

"Akina, he was in an accident. You don't just stand up and walk away from that so easily. He's been like this for five days now."

"Shush, I know. You _know_ I know. I was trying to lighten the mood."

Rikka shook her head as she stared worriedly at Naruto. She slowly raised her view up to Sakura. Seeing as how Sakura's hands were wringing the stems of the flowers she'd brought, she wasn't fairing too well either. Sighing, Rikka raked a hand through her hair. Tugging on Akina's arm, she motioned for them to leave. They'd have their chance to talk with Naruto later.

The door shut softly behind them, but Sakura didn't notice in the slightest. She was too afraid, too anxious. This was _Naruto_ she was staring at. The Naruto who was overly brash and could take on anything when they were kids. The Naruto who courageously risked it all and always came back unscathed.

The same person who was resting under those thin, white sheets, looking just as pale.

Sakura wanted to swallow, but her mouth was too dry. She felt weak in the knees and her heart was thumping within her chest.

"N-Naruto," she choked out, not at all sounding like what she had imagined it in her mind. It was too timid to suit her.

"I... You idiot," she paused as her lips trembled on the words, "I thought... When I heard about the accident, I knew you were going to pull through. You wouldn't die that easily, right, Naruto?"

Tears slipped through Sakura's eyes, and she angrily wiped at them.

"But God dammit, Naruto, G_od dammit_! When I saw them pulling you out of that ambulance... you were bleeding so much, I didn't know what to think! You were in a fucking car crash, Naruto! I didn't have the confidence to say that you were alright out loud. I was so scared, Naruto, and I'm still scared now. You better wake up soon, or I'll kick your ass for giving up over something as small as this. To you, this should just be a scratch... right?"

Sakura dried her face and blew her nose. She quietly walked over to an empty vase on the bedside table and placed the flowers she had brought in them, adding water as well. She stared at Naruto's face, brushed a few of his bangs aside and smiled the best she could. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she waited until she was outside of the room to let it out.

Seeing Sakura's solemn face, both Akina and Rikka decided it would be better if she was left alone. As Sakura took a seat on the bench, Akina and Rikka rose from it. Scuffling over to Naruto's door, they silently made their entrance.

It was hard to see Naruto in another hospital bed. The boy seemed to have already spent a lifetime's worth there in the past.

Akina's eyes roamed the room, and they settled on the flowers Sakura had brought. Smiling at how many orange flowers there were in the bouquet, Akina made the choice of starting first.

"Hey there, sunshine. It's odd to see you in one of these things again, huh?" She let out a small laugh, but it felt a little too hollow.

"How long is it going to take you to wake up this time, I wonder." Akina whispered. "No worries, though! You're our miracle boy. You'll survive... you'll make it through this. When you do, I'll be sure to give you the biggest hug you've gotten from me yet. Then, we can all go back to having fun, just like old times. I'll be waiting, Naruto-kun. We'll all be waiting."

Blinking rapidly to chase away a few tears, Akina stepped back until her back touched the wall. There, she slouched and leaned against it with her attention on counting the tiles below her feet.

Rikka stood still for a very long time. So long, in fact, that Akina had to raise her head a little to see if she was still there and breathing. Rikka's eyes held very much all her emotions. They displayed her thoughts for everyone to know. They showed her feelings, what she wanted to say, what she wanted to do. It was like a window to her heart. Knowing that, Akina didn't dare look at them for fear of seeing all the pain, regret, and self-blame swirling inside. Rikka was, after all, the one who had found a ten year old Naruto on the streets.

Finally, Rikka walked over to Naruto's side and cupped his hand in hers. She gave a light squeeze and willed them not to shake so much. Smiling, she leaned down and gently kissed his forehead.

"Come back soon, Naruto-kun."

With that said, Rikka squeezed Naruto's hand once more, straightened up, and headed for the door. Akina pushed herself off from the wall and followed.

As the three women made their way out of the hospital, Akina tried to strike up a conversation.

"Too bad neither Fuyu-san nor Iruka-san could make it today. It's weird, Sakura. Even though we all went to visit Naruto-kun all those years back, Rikka and I barely saw you. Did we just have bad timings?"

When no one answered her, she sighed. Sure, she was immensely upset and worried over Naruto, but a gloomy atmosphere never meshed well with her.

Suddenly, she remembered something.

"Oh yeah, Sakura, didn't you say you were going to see another friend at the hospital today?"

Sakura shook her head slightly. "I've got too much on my mind to see Sasuke-kun right now. Naruto..." There was a prolonged pause. "A-anyway, I can always see Sasuke-kun some other day."

**..bop bop bop bip bip bip..**

"You think they'll let us in this time?"

"Ah, how troublesome. I should not have answered my door today."

"Wow, there're more reporters here than last time. A new record, I'd say. News gets around fast!"

"Obviously."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up. I wonder why Sasuke and Naruto were driving around the outskirts of the city. Even getting into a crash, ha! I bet Naruto was behind the wheel."

"It seems as though everyone's eager to hear the details."

"Hell if they'll ever find out before us. We're Sasuke's buds, naturally we'd be the first ones to know. Too bad Naruto ain't up yet."

"Now, how to get inside..."

**..bop bop bop bip bip bip..**

Soft taps from a laptop keyboard filled the room. Sighing, Sasuke finished up the last of his missed work. Sometimes, he wished he could take a breather once in a while. Damn Temari and her violent ways.

Shutting down, Sasuke closed his laptop shut and placed it aside. The words from his doctor playing over and over in his mind. He was stuck in this dinky little hospital for about another week. He scoffed at the idea. All he got from the crash were some fractures and a gash here and there.

He was fully recovered. A cast for his arm, bandages for his cuts, and no more throbbing headaches. That was fine in Sasuke's book, but apparently doctors thought otherwise.

Pissed off, Sasuke had thoughts of walking out right now. With his paperwork done, Sasuke decided to do just that. A nurse had come to check on him recently, so no one would be coming anytime soon. While she was at it, she put a pile of clothes at the foot of his bed for him to change into later and start his rehabilitation process.

Yet another act of stupidity. _'I'm in one measly accident and they think I've forgotten how to function properly? __What __idiots, I don't need rehabilitation, I'm healthy as it is.'_

Getting out of bed, Sasuke detached himself from any medical devices and went into the personal restroom located beside him to change. The clothes were plain and flimsy, but they were better than a hospital gown, so Sasuke decided he could deal with it for the time being.

Feeling awkward and abnormally weak with his cast and bandages on, Sasuke picked up his laptop and was about to sneak out of his room when the door opened.

"Yo, Sasuke. Looks like someone's an eager beaver."

Sasuke scowled as Kiba, Shikamaru, and Neji made their way in.

"I don't need to be cooped up here for another week. I have better things to do with my time."

"Stingy! You know they're only doing what's best for you."

"Bull. I know what's best for me, and I say I'm perfectly fine."

Kiba laughed at Sasuke's customary stubbornness. He stepped up to Sasuke and hit him on the arm. Sasuke winced from the shock of pain. Seeing it, Kiba let out another bark of laughter.

"You're not fine, look at that! I pat your arm and you cringe like a girl! It's hilarious!"

"Fuck off, Kiba, mind your own business."

"Uh oh, there he goes, barring his fangs. Guys, help me out here."

"Too much work."

"Dammit, Shikamaru, why don't you go to a corner and sleep standing up?"

"Will do."

"You cancel your snowy-mountain-deer trip with your family for this and you can't even stay awake?"

Shikamaru was already in his corner, ignoring Kiba. Growling, Kiba decided to give up for the time being.

"Well, that leaves you, Neji. Could you– HEY! Sasuke! Get your prissy self back here!"

"Great. I guess we'll have to go after him before anyone else notices he's gone. C'mon guys."

Shikamaru made a grunt of protest, but gave up after Kiba started shouting nonstop at him. He was just about to fall asleep too...

"Damn, we've been wasting time. He was walking pretty fast, but he's injured so he couldn't have gotten that far. Let's split up."

The other two nodded and set off to find Sasuke. It proved to be harder than they thought as ten minutes passed by with no clues. They bumped back into each other after a while and you could tell they were borderline pissed.

"If only the hospital weren't this large," Neji sighed.

"Yeah, it'd totally be easier," Kiba agreed.

"He wanted to leave, right? Shouldn't we guard the exits? That'd be less tiring than parading around blindly," Neji suggested.

"But there has to be like a hundred exits. There's only three of us, how are we going to supervise all of them at once?"

"Surveillance rooms," Shikamaru drawled.

"And do tell how we're going to get in there," Kiba quipped.

"I have a plan."

"... Right. Whatever, you are the genius here. Wait, what if Sasuke already left?"

"I don't think so. His room was located pretty deep inside the center of the hospital. He doesn't have an excellent sense of direction, and we've been walking around for about five minutes. Even with all the maps of the interior as references, it'd take him at least 15 to go downstairs and reach an exit, if we're lucky. He probably already knows that there are going to be reporters at the main exits, so he'll be taking the smaller ones. That's what we'll look for."

"Then we're going to have to sneak into the surveillance room in less than ten minutes? Your plan better be as badass as it should be, Shikamaru."

"Mn."

**..bop bop bop bip bip bip..**

Sasuke slowed down when he figured it was safe enough. He couldn't get caught now, he'd already made it this far. Avoiding stares from the other medical workers, Sasuke tried to make it look as if he were supposed to be outside his room, that it was perfectly natural for a patient to be cruising the halls unattended. Sasuke pulled it off as he wasn't getting any suspicious looks shot his way.

The hospital was never a place Sasuke was fond of. It was a building that became the deathbed of millions. It made Sasuke uncomfortable when he realized that a handful of people probably died in the bed he used.

Bored and irritated with how many twists and turns the hospital had, Sasuke settled for reading off the nameplates of the rooms. They were all random names, and Sasuke was beginning to wonder why he was reading them at all. Then, one caught his eye.

Umino Naruto.

_'Come to think of it, I haven't been concerned about him in the least these past few days,' _Sasuke discerned.

Tentatively reaching for the doorknob, Sasuke mulled over whether to go in or not. What would he even say? What would he do?

When his hand made contact, Sasuke heard sniffling. Surprised, his ears perked up to try and grasp what the situation was beyond the door. More sobs, a mumble here, a mumble there... Finally, the person blubbered a broken version of "Naruto." Sasuke's mind made a clinking noise. He knew that voice, no matter how muddled and annoying it was, it was still recognizable. Sakura.

Eyebrows knitting together, Sasuke frowned and let go of the doorknob. He should've known that Sakura would visit the dobe, after all, he'd seen them all chummy before. To think he thought no one would be inside.

Sasuke concluded that because Sakura was crying, it meant the idiot hadn't woken up yet. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke stomped off with his laptop tucked tightly under his arm. He had no reason to stare at an unconscious person. That would just be ridiculous.

'_Stupid loser not waking up yet. It's been, what, about a week? Why isn't he bouncing around the room with that annoying grin of his? It couldn't have been that bad, it was just a few scratches, no big deal. What is he, a weakling? Shit, _why isn't he up yet?_'_

Stalking down a hall, throwing insult after insult at Naruto under his breath, Sasuke momentarily forgot about his escape plan.

**..bop bop bop bip bip bip..**

"I still don't get what we're doing."

"That's because you're incompetent."

"Neji, you–!"

"Quiet guys. I've drawn a rough sketch of the surrounding area. There are lone cameras here, here, and here. We're going to block them."

"What do you mean by lone cameras?"

"You see how almost every camera has another one within its view? The ones I pointed out don't. It'll be easier to not be seen when dealing with these. We're lucky this hospital is fairly aged because they have the old cameras with fixed viewpoints."

Kiba nodded his head in understanding and continued to listen to Shikamaru's plan.

"We'll block the view with these," Shikamaru stated while holding up black scraps of paper between his fingers and a roll of tape in the other hand.

"Where'd you get those?"

"Grabbed them off a receptionist's desk."

"Hah, nice." Kiba gave a thumbs up and pat on the back as approval. Neji pinched the bridge of his nose at Kiba's antics.

"I'll block my camera first, and walk back to where the surveillance room is in sight. You guys both cover yours after fifteen seconds. Then, Kiba, go towards the East wing, Neji, you take West. I'll be the one to sneak in. From there, I'll give instructions according to the situation. We'll communicate through a three-way phone call. Questions?"

"Uh, yeah," Kiba said while half raising his hand, "why do we have to wait fifteen seconds? Shouldn't we all do it at once?"

"Doing it in intervals will help get as many people as we can outside of the room. For example, if there was a problem, would you send everyone out at once? No, you'd send out a small group while the main people stayed behind. After they send out the first group, covering two other cameras will confuse the other guys further, making them anxious of the situation. A panicked mind, even if the feeling's slight, will be more prone to mistakes than a calm one."

Kiba nodded and the three boys started to connect to their three-way call. Before they headed out to their posts, Shikamaru warned to not look suspicious and to be seen as little as possible, especially by the camera they were assigned.

Shikamaru announced that he had finished with his first job and walked swiftly to the designated hallway. At his word, both Kiba and Neji began counting. After the time was up, they too completed their first task and dashed in the direction of their next spot.

Shikamaru sat on a nearby bench, keeping a close eye on the surveillance room as he waited for people to come out.

Seconds ticked by and still nothing.

Frowning, Shikamaru waited a couple more moments before standing up. Though it was slim, he had accounted for something like this to happen. He sighed. Why did everything have to be troublesome?

Sneaking into a secluded part cut off from the eyes of cameras, Shikamaru began giving orders. "Neji, Kiba, I'm going to hang up. I'll call back when I need you guys to do something. In the meantime, remain where you are."

Raising an eyebrow, Kiba was about to ask why, but Neji answered first with an affirmative. Stumbling over his words, Kiba scratched his head with a doubtful look across his face. Nevertheless, he gave his confirmation as well.

Pressing end on his phone, Shikamaru glanced at the time. Nearly four minutes have passed. He began dialing a new number. It was the one he got from the computer of the receptionist's desk. Earlier, when he went to grab the roll of tape and paper, he decided to look up the layout of the surrounding area and each room's contact information.

The phone rang twice before someone picked up.

"Hello, this is room C2-507."

Removing the phone from his ear, Shikamaru began rubbing it against his jeans. A muffled hello was heard, followed by another, and then the dial tone. Ending the call, Shikamaru redialed.

"Room C2-507, how may I help you?"

Again, Shikamaru responded by rubbing it against his jeans. No further greetings came, and the call was disconnected faster than the first.

Shikamaru then called Kiba.

"Yo."

"Kiba, dial the number XXX-XXXX-XXXX, don't say anything, and wait until they hang up. Repeat it twice."

"Uh... Okay."

Taking a breath, Shikamaru did the same to Neji, but gave him a different number. The three numbers Shikamaru had been using were all for the same room, the surveillance room. It was covering the entire second floor, so it would be natural that it had access to more than one phone.

They just needed to be irritated. Annoyed, confused, and apprehensive. Everything else would be smooth sailing after that.

Shikamaru told Neji that when he called the next time, it was a signal to take off the covers on the cameras. Neji replied and said he would pass on the news. With that, Shikamaru pocketed his phone.

Walking up to a nearby information desk, Shikamaru waited patiently until the woman behind the counter looked up.

"Hello, how may I help you?" She rolled her chair backwards and gave a smile.

"I wanted to check up on my friend, but he refuses to let me inside his room. He has too much pride in him." Shikamaru gave a lighthearted chuckle to look earnest. "Could you do it for me and tell me if he's fine?"

"Um, well, sir, I don't think I can right now. I'm busy typing up some report files, so I can't leave this spot. I'm sorry, but I'll tell you what, I'll call up a nurse that's free to help you."

Shikamaru nodded and thanked the lady. Soon, a nurse came, asked for the room number, and left to do the task. A couple of minutes later, she came hurrying back with a worried face.

"Linda-san, the patient doesn't seem to be in the room! No one nearby knows what happened, so we're searching for him now."

"Shoot. Hold on, I'll ask the people in the surveillance room to help."

Shikamaru stood off the the side, saying nothing. The nurse recognized him as the young man earlier and turned to apologize.

"I'm very sorry, sir! You must be awfully concerned for your friend."

"Thank you for your kindness. No need to be sorry, it wasn't your fault. I know he'll be alright."

They were then interrupted by a loud shout from Linda.

"Goodness! No need to be snappy with me! I didn't know you picked up since you were all quiet. That's why I didn't say anything. I'm calling in to see if you can help look for a person on the loose. What's got you so wound up anyways? Prank calls? Mmhm. Anyway, are you helping or not? Good. What, what happened? Blocked? What do you mean blocked? Pitch black? Are they broken? Don't call me stupid, how am I supposed to know when cameras are functional?"

As Linda continued to loudly argue, Shikamaru took a small step back. Making sure the nurse beside him didn't notice, he pulled out his phone, hid it behind his back, and speed dialed for Kiba and Neji.

Neji had already walked back to his assigned camera and was waiting for Shikamaru to call. When he saw Shikamaru flash on his phone screen, he ended the call without answering and started taking off the black paper. Turning his head so the camera wouldn't catch his face, Neji hopped down from the platform he was using and ambled off.

Kiba found his camera when he got his call. Grinning, he shut his phone and ran towards the camera. Jumping up, he snatched the piece of paper, made a u-turn, and bolted out of the hallway.

Meanwhile, after Shikamaru noticed the call had ended, he slowly started backing up. The nurse was trying to calm down Linda, and Linda was still barking angrilly into the receiver. Neither took note of Shikamaru's absence.

"Okay, okay, now they're not covered? Kids, huh? Tch, whatever, we don't have time for that. We need to scour the walkways for an invalid. Hold on, let me ask what he looks like."

Linda cupped a hand around the bottom part of the phone and faced the front of the desk. She opened her mouth to ask, but realized no one was there but the nurse. Blinking, she removed her hand and repeated to the man on the other line to keep an eye out for a wandering patient. Searching through entrance files, Linda found the corresponding patient for the room number that was given. She glanced at the picture, stunned.

_'Uchiha Sasuke, here of all places? I was wondering what the deal was with the swarm of reporters, but for _him_ to be here? No one tells me anything anymore!'_

She sent the information to a computer in the surveillance room, telling the man on the phone to refer to it. Hanging up, she sighed, waved off the nurse, and was soon typing away.

**..bop bop bop bip bip bip..**

Eight minutes have passed. Dashing down the hall, Shikamaru gave orders to meet at the East wing staircase. When everyone was there, he motioned for them to descend the steps.

"Find out where Sasuke skipped off to?" Kiba inquired since they were going to the main floor.

"I have an idea, but it's not one hundred percent," Shikamaru answered.

"What? Then what were we doing all this shit for? Wasn't it so that we could drag Sasuke's ass back to his room?"

"Earlier was to check if he was on the same level. He wasn't."

"Again, what? Didn't you sneak into that camera room to look for him?"

"It watches the second floor, not the whole building."

Neji voiced his skepticism as well. "And if we wanted to save time, wouldn't it have been better to go to the first floor surveillance room where all the exits are being monitored?"

"It's more heavily guarded, so it's harder to get into. It'd have taken longer, and we can't afford to waste our minutes. When we entered the hospital and went towards Sasuke's room, there were a lot of guards hanging around the first floor. More than usual."

"Yeah, now that I think about it, I remember seeing a suit clad guy at every corner. It's probably because of the recent explosion at Konoha Hospital," Kiba added.

"So they stationed the bulk of their security on the bottom floor," Neji deduced.

Shikamaru paused in front of a directory on the wall and pointed to a spot. Neji and Kiba also stopped to listen in.

"Someone must take this main corridor to get to these four exits. Here's another that gives way to three exits. An important intersection here, here, and here. We'll have to choose the best ones to stake out," Shikamaru assessed. His eyes darted around the layout of the area, capturing every little detail. Before long, a plan had jumped to the front of his mind.

"Neji, stand here," Shikamaru ordered while referring to the map, "Kiba, here. I'll be outside."

The two addressed studied where they should go and which turns to take in order to get there. Once done, they took a step back and waited for the word.

Yawning, Shikamaru started dragging his feet to the main entrance, waving nonchalantly behind his shoulder at his friends.

"Shika, you lazy fuck! At least say something," Kiba chided. Nonetheless, Neji and Kiba took that as the signal to go and split up.

Standing right in the middle of the intersection with a stern look, Kiba crossed his arms and waited. People passing by made confused faces, seeing as how Kiba would not let up his posture or facial expression.

Kiba was getting impatient and grumpy.

"Geez, Sasuke, where'd you go? Ahh, if only Akamaru were here. He'd be able to sniff you out," Kiba muttered to himself. "When I find you, I am _so_ breaking one of your legs, so you can't run away again. Actually, what the hell, I'll break 'em both. All out of concern for your well being. Man, I'm such a good fr–"

"Excuse me, sir? Would you mind stepping off to the side? These are main hallways, so there will be lots of traffic rushing through," a security guard asked politely.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Kiba answered. He backed up against a wall after the officer thanked him.

Kiba's eyes began to droop from boredom as he kept a watch on the intersection. He had to get up and do something. He scratched his head and tried to come up with an idea. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice.

"Who cares about him? I sure as hell don't. That's why I'm leaving. Yeah, exactly."

Kiba's ears perked up at the grumbling words. He cast his view down the hall and checked around the corner. What he saw made him release a yelp before slapping a hand over his mouth.

Uchiha Sasuke, the ever so prideful and shrewd individual, was walking towards his direction in horribly fit hospital clothing. He was clutching a sleek, black laptop that threatened to topple over from the unbalanced position he held it in. To top it off, he was wrapped in gauze, barefoot, and wore a generously sized arm cast. Dark words came spewing from his mouth while the scowl on his face seemed set in stone.

Kiba strained to hold back letting out a full blown guffaw. He had never seen Sasuke so vulnerable, his composure so mushed. The first time around, Kiba hadn't payed too much attention to Sasuke's attire, but now that he had a good look, it was enough to cause Kiba's lungs to hurt from keeping down all his laughs. It was a priceless, comedic sight indeed.

"Sasuke," Kiba addressed, trying to get his attention, "Hey, Sasuke!"

Said person's body jolted upright. Stopping his rambling and focusing on what was ahead of him, Sasuke spotted Kiba with a feral grin on his lips. Sensing danger, Sasuke's eyes darted around, looking for a way to escape. Coming up short, he used his last resort. He gripped his laptop tightly, turned on his heel, and ran.

Sasuke hated being in the state he was. He could do absolutely nothing. No one would take him seriously with his outer appearance as it was. In the current situation, all he could manage was fleeing. Like a little girl. Sasuke's scowl deepened with disgust.

Kiba's face was wiped clean as he witnessed Sasuke escaping. After recovering, he let out a smirk. He always loved a good chase.

His tennis shoes padded loudly against the tiles as he sped up. Kiba let out a whistle as he hunted down his prey. "Wow, princess's fast while injured!"

The two whizzed by patients and employees alike, and Kiba was closing in.

"Give it up, Sasuke! I was always the faster one when it came to long distance running!"

Sasuke knew. He knew Kiba was going to catch up, and he knew he was going to get caught unless he did something. He was never a physically fit person, he was more of an analytical type. A thought struck him just then, and he couldn't believe he was resorting to such tactics. Had being in one car crash sunken him down to this low of a level? Sasuke sighed and decided to bite back his dignity for today. It was already shot dead anyway. Survival came first.

"Help! I'm being chased by a maniac who wants to hurt me! Somebody help!"

Kiba's jaw went slack at Sasuke's shout. Had he heard right? Kiba shook his head. _'Besides, that kind of thing would never wor–'_

"Hold it, sir! You're going to have to stop tailing after that young man this instant! I said halt," a robust policeman called after him.

_'Aw, shit.'_

Kiba had no choice but to comply with the man's orders. After making a phone call or two of course.

"Shika! Hey, I got Sasuke on his feet. He's going toward the hallway with the elevators. I'm sort of stuck, so I can't get him, but you should know what to do."

Shikamaru smiled into his phone. "Perfect. I figured you'd lead him there. Don't worry, that spot is right up Neji's alley."

Kiba nodded, forgetting that Shikamaru could not see the gesture, and hung up.

**..bop bop bop bip bip bip..**

Neji relaxed in on a bench as he grimaced. He was almost to the point of acting like Shikamaru and dubbing the whole charade troublesome. Then, his pocket vibrated. Picking up, Neji placed the device to his ear.

"Yes?"

"Neji, Sasuke's coming your way. Take the elevator on the far right to the third floor. It'll be the closest one to him when he arrives, so he'll most likely take it rather than the others. After the doors open to the third floor, stay inside, and press the button for the first. Be prepared to grab him when the doors open again," Shikamaru's voice commanded.

Relieved that the ordeal was reaching a conclusion, Neji complied. Getting on, he pushed the button with a number three on it and leaned against the wall as the elevator made its ascent.

When Neji heard the final ding, signaling that he was on the main floor again, he tensed. He kept pressed against the side and readied himself.

Just as Shikamaru had predicted, Sasuke was the first person to get on when the doors opened. He was still catching his breath as he made his way in. Raising an eyebrow, Neji stilled. Did Sasuke not notice him?

A smile played on Neji's lips as he continued to observe Sasuke in his unkempt state. The elevator dinged and started to rise.

"Damn Inuzuka. Damn dobe. Damn injuries. Damn the whole world."

"That's quite a lot of hate you're harboring, Sasuke."

Sasuke froze and immediately stopped talking. He squeezed the laptop in his hand hard enough to hear it crack. The sound appeared to be louder than it actually was to his ears. Letting out a breath, Sasuke spoke one word, "Hyuuga."

"Hello to you too."

"What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's to escort you back to your room."

"Hn."

"So I take it you went to visit Naruto? You were cursing him a while ago."

Sasuke made a face and was about to lash out at Neji until a ding interrupted him. The doors slid open and in trotted Sakura. Her smile was overly bright and she was bouncing on her feet. Both Neji and Sasuke were speechless to the uplifting atmosphere she brought with her. What was she so peppy about?

Finally noticing she had company, Sakura greeted them both ecstatically.

"Oh, hey Sasuke-kun, Neji-kun! What're you guys–" Sakura did a double take. "Uh, so Sasuke-kun... you were discharged?"

Neji chuckled and Sasuke shot him a glare.

"No, not yet. I was on my way to ask if I could."

"But you know you can't _ask_ to be let out, it doesn't–"

Sasuke gave Sakura a piercing look, as if telling her he had ways of making it happen. Backing off, she ended awkwardly with, "Okay..."

Neji's amused look made Sasuke's blood boil. That sadistic bastard.

"You look as amazing as ever, though, Sasuke-kun," Sakura added.

Sasuke grunted.

The elevator music resonated throughout the compact space. The only thing disrupting it was the tapping from Sakura's shoes since she was lightly jumping up and down.

Neji decided to be the one to ask. "Why are you so full of energy, Sakura-san? Did something good happen?"

Sakura beamed at Neji. Her eyes sparkled with mirth as she said, "Naruto's awake!"

Sasuke's eyes widened and his quickened heartbeat flooded his ears.

_'What?'_

**..bop bop bop bip bip bip..**

**(1): Spent well over 30 minutes trying to see which problem Sasuke would be diagnosed with, and went with a simple sinus tachycardia. It's where your heart beats faster than average, usually caused from normal physiological situations like exercise, stress, anger, and fear. I just hope this is right... I'm not an expert in the medical field. Please correct me if I'm wrong.**

**Hmm, quite a slow chapter. I'm really antsy about this one. Mainly because it's the first time I've written a psychological scene. I probably failed, but I shall get better! Hopefully. :]**

**Thank you for taking the time to read! Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome!**


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